A Rose Between Two Thorns
by This-is-my-designx
Summary: The story of a girl Elijah met whilst searching for Katerina. He makes the mistake of introducing her to Klaus and their relationship becomes complicated.
1. The Beginning

**Ava's POV:**

"Ava?"  
>I turned away from the window I had been gazing out of to find one of our maids standing just inside my room. I felt a definite downward spiral of spirits. I had been hoping that mother would change her mind and let me and Louis eat dinner at a later time after her small dinner party with what she called a 'few close friends'. I knew mother too well, and a' few close friends' roughly translated into a 'few of your fathers friends with whom I hope to marry you off to'. I was tired of my mother trying to push me into getting married just because it was what was expected of me. I didn't want to end up with someone I didn't love, like she had.<br>With a sigh, I got up from the chair I had been occupying, smoothed down my dress and made to walk across the room.  
>"Yes, I'm ready." I replied, ushering the maid out of my room as I left and closed the door behind the two of us. From across the hallway came my brother, who was also expected to attend this dinner party so it wouldn't look like an obvious attempt at finding me a husband. He surveyed me for a moment before offering his arm to me, which I took.<br>"Mother's really taking this seriously, isn't she?" Louis murmured as we descended the stairs together. I took this to mean he had noticed exactly what I had. I made to reply when I heard a peal of high pitched laughter coming from downstairs. Evidently, mother had found something funny. I shot Louis a dark look.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard my father compliment someone called Elijah on his fine choice of wine. Pretentious on my fathers behalf, he didnt even like wine.  
>"Are you ready?" Louis whispered as we neared the door to the dining room.<br>"As I'll ever be." I whispered back.

"Ava! At last! I was beginning to think you'd got lost!" Came my mothers exclamation as Louis and I entered the room. She giggled at her own wit before hurrying forward and taking my hand. She lead me over to where my father was engaged in what looked like an in depth conversation with three men. My father, having heard my entrance, ended the conversation and turned to face me. The other men followed suit and my father set down his wine glass and gestured towards the first man.  
>"Elijah, may I introduce you to my daughter, Ava."<br>Elijah was tall with mid-length dark hair and dark eyes. A small smile graced his lips as he took my hand and kissed it. "A pleasure to meet you, Ava."  
>"The pleasure's mine." I replied, returning his smile before pulling my hand back and turning to the next man. I barely heard the introduction to the next two men. I was, and I hate to admit it, too preoccupied with thoughts of the first one, Elijah. Despite my mothers track record, she had made a good effort in finding someone I might actually like this time.<p>

It wasnt long until we sat down to dinner, where my mother made sure to seat me in full view of every one of my potential husbands.  
>"So, Ava," Elijah began as we started out first course. "Your English is very good."<br>I smiled, the butterflies in my stomach were going, I had it bad. Before I could answer, my mother pitched in, leaning forwards so that Elijah couldn't help but direct his gaze at her.  
>"Yes, me and Danton taught them English from a young age, and we encourage them to speak it frequently to keep it fluent."<br>I shot my mother a look of annoyance. Did _she _want to marry this guy? She hadn't let me get a word in edgeways so far!

As the dinner progressed, mother got quieter, presenting me with the opportunity to speak for myself. This was the first dinner where I had contributed voluntarily to the conversation; usually I sat, not speaking unless I was spoken to. I could see my parents exchanging what they thought were subtle looks of glee. I suppose I was finally taking steps towards being the daughter my mother craved i.e. one that wanted to get married to a wealthy man and therefore bring both honour and money to the family name as well as a few grandchildren to carry the family legacy.

The dinner drew to an end far more quickly that I would have liked. All too soon I was bidding goodbye to Elijah and the other two men whose names I hadn't troubled myself to remember. We - my parents, Louis, Elijah, Gentleman 2 & 3 and I - proceeded into the hallway where Alexandre, the maid, was waiting with their coats.

Gentleman 2 & 3 left first. They kissed my hand and shook my fathers hand before departing. That wasnt the goodbye Id been looking forward to, though.  
>"Thank you for a lovely evening." said Elijah to my parents. He kissed my mothers hand and shook my fathers. He turned to me and Louis, who were stood a few feet behind. He shook Louis hand, also, before taking mine and bestowing upon it a kiss that filled my stomach once again with incessant butterflies. How did he do that? I struggled to hide my pleasure; I was more than willing to hide the fact that my parents had actually brought home someone who had taken my fancy.<p>

**Elijah's POV:**

Hunting down Katerina was proving difficult. That girl knew how to hide, and Klaus was getting angrier with every passing day. He had come so close to breaking the curse that had plagued him since his werewolf side had been bound to become dormant by the witches, and Katerina, his only hope, had somehow managed to thwart him and for that she must pay the price.

It was pursuing Katerina that led me to France and into the friendship circle of Giselle and Danton La Torre. It was only too easy to slip into town with the pretence of being a young man, travelling the world. My sources told me that Katerina had been seen in this remote area of France, and I was going to stay, scour every inch of the place and interrogate the locals on her whereabouts. I had it all planned out. What I didnt expect was to have my attention diverted.

I was going to 'talk' to Danton and Giselle, and by 'talk' I mean compel them to tell me everything they knew. I knew that they had a young daughter, close to Katerinas age. If she was going to seek refuge in anyone, it would be someone she could identify with. Danton and Giselle invited me to their home for a dinner party, it was the perfect opportunity, and I took it without a second thought.

I went into their house with the intention of compelling and disposing of them without a second thought. Half an hour in, my intentions were abruptly altered.

It wasnt until Dantons daughter, Ava, and her brother - I forget his name - entered the dining room that my attention was focused on anything other than locating Katerina Petrova.

Ava was beautiful. There was no other word for it. Her skin was pale and flawless, it was almost glowing. Her dark hair contrasted perfectly with her pale skin. It cascaded down her back like a waterfall. And her eyes, so blue. Looking into them was like falling into a bottomless lake. I shook myself internally, I couldn't let myself feel like that again. I'd fallen into that trap with Katerina and the results had been nothing short of disastrous.

It was a bad idea, to put it lightly, for a vampire to fall for a human. So many complications.  
>I put on a pleasant demeanor, though inside I was fighting the urge to kill everyone in the room and take her far away. I'm not completely sure what I wanted to do with her. Kiss her, kill her, turn her? Since I was on the verge of loosing control right there and then, they all sort of blurred into one emotion. I reprimanded myself internally for failing to feed beforehand. I didn't think I'd need it, I hadn't exactly counted on meeting a girl like Ava, either. Not only was she beautiful, she was charming, open-minded, independent. I wanted her for myself. I knew how this would have been settled if my brother was around. Klaus would have snapped her neck the second he realised that her presence was going to affect my efficiency in the search for the Petrova girl.<p> 


	2. The Morning After

**Ava's POV:**

_"So_, word has it that your mother finally found you a gentleman you approve of."

The door of my room opened and in walked my brothers poisonous fiancée, Adeline. Adeline was my age and I despised her. She was English and for that considered herself the most important of us all. Her wicked, green eyes swept over me critically as Alexandre tightened my corset. I braced myself for the snide comments that were likely to come, but Adeline's attention was diverted, her focus was not on my appearance today, but on my potential husband.  
>"Don't you have someone else to be irritating?" I replied indifferently. I had no patience for Adeline. She was shallow, snide and on some occasions, down right cruel.<br>"Giselle tells me that her dinner party ruse finally worked. Elijah, isn't it? This man that has finally caught that eye of yours."  
>"Mother is getting ahead of herself. I don't recall telling her that her transparent attempt to marry me off had worked, and I certainly don't remember telling her that Elijah has, as you so charmingly put it, caught my eye." I snapped as Alexandre began to help me with my dress. This was a slight lie, my mothers attempt was working, and Elijah had indeed caught my eye, but I was forcing myself to stay nonchalant. I barely knew the man, for all I knew he could be a completely horrible man and the attitude he had displayed the previous evening was a façade.<p>

Instead of looking put out by my snappy attitude, Adeline only smirked. I got the feeling she could see right through _my _façade. This irritated me beyond belief; Adeline was not my friend, nor was she my confidante, who was she to believe that she knew me well enough to see past my well structured walls?

Adeline seemed to sense that I was in no mood to talk to her about my love life - if it was appropriate to be called that - so she changed the subject. Her and Alexandre engaged in a conversation about the plans for her and Louis' weddings. This did nothing to improve my mood. I believed my brother deserved better than _her_. It was a result of an unfortunate sequence of events that had brought Adeline into our family.

I drifted off into the bliss of my own thoughts when a discreet knock on my door brought my gradually back to the present.  
>"Come." I called.<p>

Charlotte, another maid, opened the door and stepped into my room with the oddest expression. It was like excitement suppressed under a blank expression.  
>"Ava, the Lord Elijah is here to see you."<br>Lord? He was a _Lord_? How on earth had my mother neglected to tell me that? She'd glorified him in every other aspect, had she even known that he was a Lord? On the other hand, that explained the strange expression: the maids were all in on my mothers plan, they were like her minions.  
>I glanced around at Adeline and Alexandre, both of who were looking like Christmas had come early. Were people <em>that <em>keen to have me married off? It was a little offensive.  
>"Please tell him to wait and that I will be down in a few short moments." I replied with as much grace as I could muster. I'd be lying if I said that the butterflies in my stomach hadn't started up again.<p>

Charlotte left the room. As soon as she had closed the door behind her, Adeline and Alexandre both started speaking at the same time, they sounded like a pair of overexcited birds.  
>"He's come to see you, the day after your parents had him over for dinner? What was that you said about your mother getting ahead of herself?" Adeline exclaimed excitedly as Alexandre nodded along with her enthusiastically. I glared at her, why on earth was she suddenly acting like we were good friends all of a sudden?<br>"Honestly, calm down, both of you. You're acting as though youve never seen a man before." I told them haughtily. My words had no effect on either of them, for they both turned to each other with what they obviously thought were superior smirks.

Ignoring both of them, I headed over to the mirror to check my reflection to make sure that I was looking presentable. I exited the room without a backwards glance at Adeline and Alexandre, both of whom had turned into a giggling mess.  
>I was slightly nervous, for what reason could Elijah possibly have for visiting me barely 12 hours after having left the previous night.<br>I managed to keep my composure as I descended the stairs in what I hoped was a dignified and graceful manner.

"Elijah," I said with a smile as I reached the bottom of stairs. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"  
>He smiled at me. Dear me, he was so beautiful. He took my hand and kissed it, just as he had last night, causing the now familiar fire in my stomach to flare up.<br>"Ava," He replied, releasing my hand. "I was at a loose end and desired the company of a charming woman."  
>I almost succumbed to the temptation of becoming a pathetic giggler like my charming almost sister-in-law upstairs, but I had more dignity than her, or at least I hoped.<br>"Well, I'm flattered."  
>"Would you like to accompany me for a walk?"<br>"Of course."

He offered me his arm, which I took whilst hiding my obvious delight. Charlotte opened the front door for us and we stepped out into the warm, summers day. The air was light and pleasantly warm. I sighed contentedly as the sunlight washed over me. It was enough to make me forget how much is disliked Adeline and how irritated I was at my mother for trying to push me into marriage.

"I gather your mother, Giselle, had an ulterior motive for last nights dinner." Elijahs voice broke though my aimless thoughts, dragging my spirits down. It was embarrassing that my mothers motives were so clear.  
>"Mhmm. She's very keen to have me married and starting my own family. That dinner was by no means the first." My tone was embarrassed as I made a mental note to never attend one of my mothers dinners where the phrase a few close friends was involved.<br>"I'd have thought a girl like you would have been married by now. Isn't the average age around 17?" I was 21 years of age and pleased that I broke the stereotype. I didn't want to be like any other girl, like my mother.  
>"A girl like me?"<br>"Beautiful, intelligent, the perfect candidate for a wife?"  
>I felt myself blushing and turned my head away slightly, hoping that my hair would hide the pink flush of colour in my cheeks.<br>"I didn't want to end up married to just anyone. So many people take marriage lightly and end up with someone they despise. Take my parents, for example, they don't particularly _like _each other. They put on a good show for me and Louis, but the cracks are blindingly obvious." I explained, turning back to face him when I was confident my skin had returned to its natural colour. I wasn't exactly sure why I was all but pouring my heart out to him, it felt...right.

**Elijah's POV:**

She was falling for me. Hard. I could see it in the way she looked at me. I saw her skin flush with colour when I called her beautiful. I could hear her heart beat a little faster. She was trying her best to hide it, but being quite a few centuries old, I was more than experienced in reading women.

I knew that soon, I'd have to make a decision. Klaus would come looking for me. It had been weeks since I'd written to him with the news that I'd found a lead on Katerina, he'd want to know how I was progressing.

I'd grown fond of Katerina, she was human and vulnerable and sweet and I had so desperately wanted to protect her from the fate that I knew was coming for her. Of course, I'd set my priorities straight and realised that my brother was where my true allegiance lay. But Ava was different. For starters she wasnt the key ingredient in a curse my brother was so adamant on breaking. She brought out emotions in me I hadn't thought were possible. It was foolish, really. I'd known her for little more than a day. Maybe it was my heightened emotions. Ever since I'd left behind my human life, my emotions, thoughts and feelings were all heightened a hundred fold.

My better nature was telling me to leave her be and not burden her with the weight of my world, the world of the supernatural. My selfish side was calling out to me to take the girl. Marry her, turn her, spend an eternity worshipping the ground she walked on. I hated to admit it, even to myself, but my selfish side was greatly outweighing my better nature.


	3. Birthday Celebrations

**Elijahs POV:**

_"Life is too cruel. If we cease to believe in love, why would we want to live?"_

Katerina's words echoed through my head. They rang true in every syllable. Klaus reiterated time and time again that a vampires greatest weakness was love and that we would do well not to feel, but what is life without love? If I was to live by Klaus' way of life, I would be nothing but a shadow of my former self.

After becoming both conflicted and tired, I decided that then would be a better time than any to feed. It was early evening, and therefore plenty of people would be around. It was too easy to find a lone human - in this case, a woman strolling through the streets alone clutching an umbrella to protect her pale skin from the sun - feed from them, heal their wounds and erase their memories. The woman who I picked out as my victim tonight was so self-absorbed she didnt realise what was happening before it was too late. Adeline, I think she said her name was. Her blood compensated for her lack of personality. When I finished, I fed her some of my own blood to clean up the nasty wound I'd left upon the pale skin of her neck and erased her memory of the whole incident. Hunger solved and no harm done.

I received another invitation from the La Torre's to another gathering, though this one was not a dinner designed to find Ava a husband. It was Giselle's birthday, and she was having a formal gathering to celebrate. I wasn't surprised to be invited, not after the first social event I attended of theirs. I was rather pleased to be invited, in fact. It had been a week since I had last seen Ava. Is it possible to miss someone you barely know? The phrase love at first sight seemed to come to mind, despite the fact I had deemed that phrase utterly ridiculous in the past, it seemed to be rather fitting at the current moment.

I cursed under my breath, Klaus was right, love was a vampires greatest weakness. This was going to be a mistake, I was sure of it. I would surely look back on this time, many years from now, and realise what an error it had been. I chuckled to myself, maybe making a few errors wouldnt be such a bad thing.

The birthday celebrations were in full swing when I arrived. The room was full of chatter and the occasional burst of laughter. Since I was fairly new to town, Giselle and Danton wasted no time in introducing me to those of import.  
>"...And you've met our son, Louis. This is his fiancée, Adeline."<br>Adeline? Why was that name familiar? I extended my arm, preparing to take the womans hand and kiss it, as was appropriate. I received a jolt of shock as I looked up into her face. Adeline was the woman I'd fed off a week or so ago. Thankfully, she didnt seem to recognise me, evidently my compulsion had worked a treat.  
>"Nice to meet you, Elijah." Adeline said with the same sly smile she'd used when introducing herself for the first time though, of course, she didn't remember that.<br>I bowed my head respectfully, releasing her hand and straightening up. "And you, Adeline."  
>Adeline surveyed me appreciatively. I didn't like the way she let her eyes drift slowly over me. I was unsure to exactly what it was, that look in her eyes, but I was positive it wasn't anything good.<br>"Adeline's from England," Danton told me in a murmur. "Very lucky that I met her father whilst I was over there. I'm sure that Adeline will prove an excellent addition to the family."  
>I smiled politely, by 'excellent addition' I gathered that Adelines parents were both wealthy and powerful.<p>

"Ava? Ava!"  
>Giselle, who was on my left, seemed to be trying to get Ava's attention, who either couldnt hear her or was being deliberately ignorant. She was conversing with a man I didn't recognise. From what I could hear - thanks to my heightened sense of hearing - it didn't sound like a particularly thrilling conversation, but the sight of it still had me ten shades green with envy.<p>

_"So I hear youre looking for a husband?"  
><em>_"No. What gave you that idea?"_ I was pleased to hear that her voice was not only bored, but irritated too.  
><em>"I happened to hear your mother and father talking-"<br>__"Then you would know that it's my mother who's looking for a husband for me. I have no interest in the matter whatsoever. Now, if you'll excuse me." _I heard Ava snap, and though I had long since turned my back on them, it was easy to work out what happened next, judging from what I had heard. Casually, I turned back to where they had been standing to see Ava walking away, leaving the man she had been talking to looking slightly put out. She seemed to have had enough of the party since she slipped out of the room, seemingly unnoticed by anyone but myself.

I forced myself to make polite conversation with the woman opposite me. I complimented her appearance and asked her how she knew Giselle and Danton - apparently she and Giselle had been childhood friends - before excusing myself. I made my way easily though the crowd of people that had filled the La Torre's dining room. When I reached the door, I slipped out easily. I had been expecting Ava to be hidden in an empty room, and had been planning on locating her using my hyper-sensitive hearing, but I didn't have to look far at all. There she was, sat atop of the stairs, reading. She was leant forwards so that her hair fell forwards, shielding her face from view like a curtain of dark curls.  
>"Ava?"<br>She jumped and snapped the book shut, looking up sharply in search of the person who had rudely interrupted her. Me.

"Elijah!" She gasped, shock jolting through her delicate features. She set the book down beside her. "What are you doing out here?"  
>"I was getting a little overwhelmed in there. I'm not used to being surrounded by so many people." I lied smoothly, flashing her a small smile.<br>She relaxed her posture slightly, which had become rigid upon my appearance.  
>I hesitated for a fraction of a second before making to climb the stairs. I glanced up at her, she was watching me closely.<br>"May I?"  
>She saw what I was intending on doing, pushed the book that was beside her backwards and out of sight and nodded. I climbed the stairs towards her, seating myself on the step below her. I positioned myself so that I was looking up at her. Even in the dim half-light that we were sat in, her beauty was almost overwhelming.<br>"What are _you_ doing out here?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow. It seemed like an anti-social gesture, to be sat on the stairs in the dark whilst your mother's birthday party was in full swing.  
>"The majority of people in that room irritate the life out of me. I prefer to sneak out and spend time by myself but I have to stay close in case someone comes looking for me." said Ava quietly, her eyes raking my expression as she tried to gage my reaction. I smiled and she returned it.<br>"So how are you liking it here in _Lagrasse_?" The accent that she masked so well when she spoke the English language came out strong when she said the name of the town. She didn't seem to notice that I was marvelling. She tucked her hair behind her ear, waiting patiently for an answer. A single strand fell forwards. Without thinking, I reached out and brushed it back gently.  
>"I like it." I answered quietly, my gaze locking in on her impossibly blue eyes. She gazed back silently, at a loss for words, maybe? She opened her mouth to speak when a door opened below us, shedding light over the staircase.<p>

A piercing voice penetrated the hallway. I saw Ava wince very slightly and had to work hard to suppress a smirk.  
>"Av<em>a<em>! Are you out here?"  
>It was Adeline. Obnoxious Adeline.<br>"I'm here," Ava replied, her voice was like a bed of the softest feathers in comparison to Adeline's. She stood up and began to descend the staircase, leaving me sat on my step, staring after her longingly.  
>Adeline spotted me, a snide smile painted its way across her face.<br>"Hello, Elijah."  
>I nodded in response, my eyes still fixated as the girl who had inexplicably wriggled her way into my every thought disappeared into the dining room.<p> 


	4. Away With My Pride

**Ava's POV:**

The week after mamas birthday party passed in a blur. Adeline and Louis wedding was in the forthcoming days, and both my parents were entirely rushed off their feet. I had offered my help, but they had waved me away like an irritating child.

Because of the chaos that was ensuing at home, I had taken to strolling through the meadow behind our home. Sometimes I would lie in the grass, watching the clouds go by. It was a very calming activity. It also helped me forget the event I was dreading: whilst my parents were counting down the days until Adeline officially became a La Torre, I was not looking forward to it. Not one little bit. For one, I was a bridesmaid. Mother was deaf to my protests and so it was with sour grace that I accepted Adelines invitation.

I wondered, sometimes, whether if my parents had fallen in love when they had married, would they be pushing me to marry? I suspected that neither of my parents had ever experienced true love and therefore had no idea what they were missing. Not that I am one to talk. 21 years of age, unmarried and falling for a man I'd known barely two weeks. Maybe that was true love, what would I know?

"...Do you know how _worried _I've been! I call you for a final fitting with your bridesmaid dress and you're no where to be seen and then I find you asleep out here! Anything could have happened to you, you silly, silly girl!"  
>My mothers voice seemed to jolt me back to reality, I blinked a few times trying to make sense of the situation. I sat up, pushing my hair back out of my face, gasping over my mothers rant as I realised what was going on. I'd fallen asleep in the meadow. Judging by the periwinkle blue of the sky, I'd slept right through the afternoon and into the evening.<p>

I stood up hurriedly, brushing my dress down of the grass that had attached itself to my skirt.  
>My mother watched me, her hands on her hips, her expression still angry.<p>

"I think it's about time you started to seriously consider who you are going to marry. Your father and I didn't raise you to spend your days a spinster. You could do with taking a leaf out of your brothers book." She snapped at me before turning and making her way back home. I stood, stunned, for a few long moments. Mother had never spoken to me like that, with her voice practically dripping with resentment. It was in that moment I realised what a disappointment I was turning out to be. I'd been selfish, refusing to marry out of pride, yet I hadn't stopped for a moment to think about how that would affect my parents.  
>Downhearted by my realization, I followed in my mothers footsteps, making my way back up to the house.<p>

I was silent throughout my entire dress fitting. I was all but deaf to Adeline's criticisms and her complaints. I didn't even react when she slipped in a sly comment about Elijah. I was thinking hard; I didn't want to be a burden to my parents any more, I was going to get married and start a family, even if I did end up with someone I didn't love. At least I wouldnt have to see the disappointment in my mother's eyes every time she looked at me, anymore.

As soon as Adeline had finished criticising the way I looked in the dress I was to wear at the wedding, I tore from the room and set off around the house in search of mother. The wedding was in two days, and that would be a perfect hunting ground for eligible bachelors.

I felt a small tug on my heart strings. Truth be told, there was one man that would have been perfect for me. One whose proposal I would have accepted without a second thought, but I was almost sure that he wouldn't want to be tied to a woman he met for a few days in France. He had the whole world to travel, I was only one girl out of the very many he was sure to meet.

I found mother in the dining room, sat at the far end of the table pouring over arrangements for the wedding. She looked up when I entered the room, only to turn her attention back to the arrangements when she saw who it was.  
>I took a deep breath, this was it, I was about to sign my whole life away. Slowly, I walked towards her and sat myself down next to her.<br>"You're right. I should be married by now." I stared straight ahead, unable to look my mother in the eyes. "Which is why I want you to find me a husband. No more dinner parties where the ulterior motive is finding someone _I _like. I want _you_ to find me someone." I turned to face her. Her face had lit up in delight. The disappointment had gone along with my pride.


	5. Wedding Preparations

**Elijah's POV:**

My first impression of Lagrasse was that it was a small, intimate town where sinister events were minimal. It made perfect sense that Katerina would come to a place like this one. She had no personal connection to the place, it was remote, the perfect hiding place.

Now? There was an increasing number of inexplicable deaths occurring. It was vampire attacks. I knew the signs: slashed neck, bodies drained of blood. There was another one of my kind, here. Maybe more than one. They were drawing attention to themselves, whether because they were new or because they were trying to make a point, I didn't know, but they had to be stopped. I had enough to be getting on with without trying to tame a rogue vampire.

I saw Ava today, she was asleep in a meadow. She looked exquisitely perfect, nestled in the grass, her long hair fanned out around her. She looked peaceful. I was going to wake her, it wasn't safe for her to be out alone and sleeping alone in a deserted meadow definitely made her vulnerable, when I heard Giselle calling her name. I moved fast, so fast that Giselle wouldnt have been able to see me, away from Ava and away from the meadow. I didn't want it to look like I was praying upon the young girl who lay asleep, unaware of my presence.

I awoke on the day of the wedding - a last minute invite had been issued to me - with a slight sense of foreboding. I felt almost as if someone were watching me. I would keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary. The mysterious vampire killer was still at large, and I was no closer to discover who it was. I suspected that they were a ripper, they seemed to care not that they were leaving a conspicuous trail that would eventually lead me to them.

I picked out some of my smartest garments for the wedding, appearances were everything with the upper class. As I exited my temporary home, I felt a twinge of guilt; Klaus was under the impression that I was here searching tirelessly for Katerina, but here I was, letting that slide so that I could pursue a woman who was surely too good for me. Klaus would be angry, to put it lightly, if he knew. The time for me to leave was drawing near, unless I could come up with a convincing excuse to postpone it.

**Ava's POV:**

It was pandemonium. Everywhere I looked, our servants were rushing around trying to do ten things at once. Adeline was shouting at anyone who would listen and mother was backing her up. I retreated meekly to my room, I was ready so there was no need for me to stay amidst the madness that had painted the atmosphere. My hair had been curled and styled intricately and I had been helped into my dress an hour ago. I surveyed myself in the mirror with a look of slight distaste. The dress wasn't _awful_ but it wasn't something I'd pick to wear if the choice had been mine, either.

I realised, with a jolt of guilt, that I hadn't been to wish my brother luck. I slipped out of my room and headed down the stairs, where the men were congregating. I found my brother, my father and our cousin, Gascon, who was to be Louis' best man. All three of them turned to face me as I entered the room. Father smiled at me and told me how beautiful I looked, he did it rather hastily but still. Gascon bowed his head respectfully and Louis bestowed upon me a smile that was both excited and nervous. It was rather unnerving to see him nervous, he was always so calm and collected.  
>"May I have a moment with my brother?" I asked father and Gascon. Both of them turned to Louis as though to ask for his permission to leave. Louis nodded once and they exited the room without a word.<br>"Nervous?" I asked, though the answer was written all over his face.  
>"A little." He replied, wringing his hands together.<br>I didn't like seeing him so nervous and uncomfortable. I couldnt help feeling that Adeline was not at all worth it, but as long as he was happy it mattered not what I thought. Unable to keep his anxious expression in my line of sight a moment longer, I walked forwards and drew him into a hug.  
>"You'll be fine." I murmured. There were a lot of things that I wanted to say, about how much I loved him, and how much our parents loved him, too, but I couldn't find the right words. Perhaps he sensed that I wanted to say more, or maybe I didn't need to say them, maybe he just understood. He pulled away from the hug, kissed my forehead and said in the sincerest voice I had ever heard him use, "Thank you."<br>"You're welcome." I gave him one last smile before departing from the room. Despite the fact that it was a wedding that was taking place, I felt as though I was losing my brother. After today, Adeline would be an ever-present factor in his life. He'd move out of our home and into one of his own with Adeline and I'd no longer have my brother to my self. It was selfish of me to be thinking that way, but Adeline and thoughts of Adeline brought out the worst in me.


	6. The Wedding

**Ava's POV:**

"...Do you, Adeline Rose take Louis Danton to be your lawful wedded husband?"  
>"I do."<br>"And do you, Louis Danton take Adeline Rose to be your lawful wedded wife?"  
>"I do."<br>"Then I declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."  
>Louis cupped Adeline's face with his hands and drew her into a delicate kiss before taking her hand in his and turning them both to face the audience so that he could show off his new bride.<br>I sat in the front row next to my mother, an expression of utter distaste upon my face. So that was it, Adeline was officially part of the family, officially one of us. She would be present at every Christmas, every birthday, every single family event. Just the thought made me feel sick. I decided, for my brothers sake, to plaster a smile to my face for the remainder of the ceremony. There was no need for my brother to be aware of the dislike I felt for his wife. Since the ceremony was over, we were free to leave the church. I followed my parents, who were surrounded by well wishers, out of the church. The after party was being held in the meadow behind our home. The very same meadow I had fallen asleep in a couple of days previously. A marquee had been erected and one long table had been set out beneath it with just enough places for everyone to sit. There was to be dancing, also. I liked dancing, it was somewhat calming to me.

Just as my parents and I were leaving the church, I caught the eye of the young man I had so rudely turned down at my mothers birthday celebration. I gave him a guilty smile. I did feel bad about that, I had been unnecessarily snappy. He didnt return my smile, instead he glared at me. I was a little shocked by the sheer intensity of his stare. It was such that I couldnt seem to look away. It scared me, if I was honest. Somehow I managed to wrench my gaze away from his, evidently I'd deeply offended him when I'd rejected him. I hoped he'd attend the wedding reception, perhaps I could apologise to him then. What was his name, again? Raoul, that was it. I'd apologise to Raoul the first opportunity I got.

**Elijah's POV:**

The wedding was lovely. It wasn't too extravagant, and the couple seemed happy enough. I made my way to the wedding reception with a man I'd grown to consider a friend. His name was Quentin and he'd been kind enough to let me stay in his house whilst I stayed in town. When I say 'kind enough to let me stay' I do, of course, mean I compelled him to let me stay. It was regrettable but necessary.  
>"I hear the La Torre's daughter has finally agreed to let her parents find her a husband." Quentin told me with a knowing smile. "It's about time, too. How old is she, now? 20? 21? She should have been married off years ago. If it had been my daughter, I wouldnt have taken no for an answer."<br>I answered with a polite smile, though inside I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach. Not one week ago had Ava told me that she refused to let her parents find her someone to marry because she didn't want to end up married to someone she did not love. What could have possibly changed since then? Would they ask me to ask for her hand in marriage? What if they found someone else? Would I be able to leave this town knowing that she would be tying herself to another man for the rest of her life? Somehow, I thought not.

Once everyone had settled into the reception, Adeline and Louis had danced their first dance as man and wife and everyone was mulling around comfortably, I sought out Ava. I knew what I wanted to say to her, I had to, even if she declined it would be better than leaving town without knowing.

I found her talking to the man I'd seen her reject at her mothers birthday party. Strange, I thought, since the last time she'd rebuffed his attempt to start a conversation.  
>"Excuse me," I said, cutting in. I placed my hand on her arm to get her attention. She looked up at me, a smile lighting up her features when she saw it was me. I felt a small twinge of longing in my stomach at her smile.<br>"Elijah! How wonderful to see you!" She turned to the young man with an apologetic smile and said, "Anyway, I hope you understand, Raoul. Goodbye."  
>I offered her my hand and she took it so I lead her over to where people were now dancing.<br>She placed her left hand on my shoulder and my left hand found its place at her waist. Our right hands were clasped together and we began to move gently in time with the music.  
>"So, Quentin tells me you've finally agreed to allow your parents to find you a husband?" I asked her casually.<br>She grimaced, it obviously wasn't a decision she'd come to willingly. "I did. I was being selfish. My parents are right, it's about time I was married. I should have been married years ago, in fact. It was selfish of me to insist otherwise."  
>I gazed at her - it was hard to look anywhere else - she was beautiful, to put it lightly. I took a deep breath, even for someone like me, someone who had been around for centuries, proclaiming your feelings to someone was somewhat nerve-wracking.<br>"Marry me." I replied bluntly, my gaze still fixated on hers.  
>Her eyes widened in shock and she seemed speechless for a moment before, "W-what! Are you serious!"<br>I glanced around the vicinity to make sure that no one else had heard, I didn't want anyone else to know just yet, or at all if she turned me down.  
>"Yes, I'm serious. I know that it's sudden and that I barely know you but I can't stand the thought of you marrying someone else. I know this isn't the traditional way of doing it, but I can go about it that way; I can ask your parents first and then arrange a large social event and ask you publicly. I beg of you, please consider it."<br>She staring still with wide eyes. I watched her tentatively, awaiting her response. After what seemed like an eternally long moment, her expression broke down into a shy smile.  
>"Well, since you asked so nicely, I feel it would be rude to decline." She bit down on her bottom lip and turned her head very slightly away from my direct gaze. She was trying to hide the flush of colour that tainted her porcelain skin tone, but gifted with the exceptional eyesight of a vampire, I saw it nonetheless.<p>

The remainder of the reception passed without great incident. Since it was Adeline and Louis' wedding, Ava and I had agreed not to mention our engagement - if you could it that - to anyone. In fact, we had decided to act as if she hadn't agreed to marry me. The traditional way to go about it was to go to the parents, first, to ask for permission and then propose at a social event that had been prepared for that very occasion, and so that is how I was going to do it.


	7. A Surprise Visitor

**Elijah's POV:**

I journeyed home that night feeling utterly beside myself. Over the moon. Like the happiest man on earth. Any romantic cliché could have been compared to my feelings in that moment. After many, many years of living in my brother's shadow I finally had my own purpose in life.  
>It wasnt until I arrived home - or, at Quentin's home - that I began to feel the same sense of foreboding I'd felt a couple of days previously. Something wasn't right. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, like someone was watching me<p>

"Hello, brother."

I froze. I knew exactly who that voice belonged to. But he couldnt be here, not now, not with Ava. Klaus believed that a vampires greatest weakness was love. If he saw that I had developed feelings for a human he would snap her neck without thinking twice about it to show me how easily she could be taken from me, and to ensure I didn't fall for a human again. I had to protect her from him somehow.

"Brother, what brings you here"? I replied, eventually, turning to face him. He stood before me, resplendent in his fine clothing. One would never guess that a cold blooded monster lay beneath the pleasant veneer.  
>"I noticed you were spending an abnormally long time in this town. I was curious as to what was keeping you here, but now I know." He winked at me.<br>My insides seemed to turn to lead. He must have been watching for a while to know who was keeping me here. My heart sank, he'd kill her, just as he'd intended to kill Katerina, just as he would kill anyone he saw as an inconvenience.  
>"She's quite the looker, Elijah. Does she know your little secret?"<br>I stared at him, he was playing a dangerous game. He was angry, I could tell, but he was hiding that anger behind a charming attitude. I knew him too well, I knew that it was times like these he was at his most dangerous.  
>"No, she doesn't, and I don't intend to tell her." I replied curtly. "Klaus, I beg of you, don't hurt her, please." I might as well have been on my knees, pleading with him not to go after her, but it was no good. I could tell from the look on his face.<br>"Careful, brother. I might just take that as an invitation."  
>Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to kill him, or at least try, but I knew better than that. If I tried and failed, he would go straight for Ava.<p>

"Relax. I didn't come here to cause trouble. I won't go near her. I came to see how you were progressing in the search for Katerina. Judging by the fact that you spent all of today at a wedding, I'm guessing not very far?"  
>"I've been following up on a few leads, but none have come to much. I'm still looking though, there are still parts of town I haven't visited, people I haven't spoken to." I lied, hoping I would be able to buy myself some time.<br>"Then we shall search every crevice of this town until we find something. In the mean time, however, I hear a congratulations are in order?"  
>I looked at him quizzically, surely he wasn't referring to the yet-to-come engagement? How could he know?<br>"Yes, I know all about the engagement that has yet to be announced." Klaus smiled knowingly. He must have been close by at the wedding, hidden, but listening to every word. He must have been spying on me for quite a while now, he seemed to know quite a lot.  
>"How long have you been here, brother, watching me?"<br>"Not long, a few hours maybe."  
>"Then how do you-"<br>"I have my ways, Elijah, as you well know." He cut across me and I felt a stab of annoyance, must he always undermine me?

**Ava's POV:**

Engaged. _Engaged._ It didn't feel right to apply that term to me. But I suppose that's what I am, engaged. Elijah asked me to marry him at my brother's wedding reception. I'd be lying if I said the thought of that moment didnt make me want to jump for joy every time it crossed my mind. I was relieved that I wouldn't end up marrying someone I had no feelings for. Since it was my brother's wedding, we decided not to mention it to anyone else, especially since he offered to do it the traditional way, which was to ask the parents for permission first.  
>The whole thing seemed surreal to me. It was all happening so fast.<p>

Elijah came, as promised, to talk to my parents and ask for my hand in marriage. Mother is beside herself with excitement and keeps looking at me with what she thinks is suppressed joy. Of course, both my parents believe me to be oblivious to the fact that Elijah wishes to marry me. I am going along with it, purely because I know that my parents want this to be done properly.  
>As soon as Elijah left our home, mother started planning a dinner event almost immediately. I could hear her fussing over who to invite from my seat on the stairs. I couldn't help but smile to myself, finally she'd be proud of me.<p>

Last night was...strange. I woke up, sprawled across my bed on top of the sheets. That wouldn't have been so strange had my nightgown and my neck not been covered in blood. My neck is also a little sore. I'm not sure what to make of it. I suppose I must have knocked it in the night, or maybe I slept walked and hit my neck on something sharp, though there doesnt seem to be a wound and I can't imagine where the blood came from. Alexandre couldn't come up with an explanation for it either, which is unnerving as Alexandre usually has a rational explanation for everything. I asked her not to mention it to anyone, I didn't want people to think I was hurting myself in my sleep. They'd think I was going crazy! I'd be bundled straight into a lunatic asylum! Besides, I had other things to be thinking about as opposed to some strange night time occurrence. Soon, I would be getting married. I was going to be a wife, perhaps a mother, even? It scared me, but excited me at the very same time.


	8. A Cause For Celebration

**Ava's POV:**

"Leave me _alone_, Adeline!" I snarled at the woman who seemed to take pleasure in trying to bring me down. Her eyes glinted wickedly and she didn't give up with her tirade of insults.  
>"I'm just <em>saying<em> that a man as gifted as he is with his looks should aim higher!"  
>I rolled my eyes. I'd been putting up with Adeline's subtle - and sometimes, not so subtle - insults for far too long for them to hurt me anymore.<br>"Aim higher as in aim for someone like you?  
>A sly grin broke through her serious expression. She was ever so vain.<br>"Anyway, it doesn't matter what you think, or what I think for that matter. If we were getting married, it would be different, but as it is..." I lied, still feigning obliviousness on the whole engagement front. Since the dinner event that was happening later on in the evening had been arranged solely so Elijah could propose to me publicly, I was still having to act as if I knew nothing, which suited me just fine. I was finding it hard to put up with Adeline as it was. There was one thing I was certain of, and it was that when it came to arranging the wedding, Adeline would be having nothing to do with it.

"Well actually-" Adeline began before I cut her off hastily. I knew what she was going to say, she was going to spoil the surprise, of course she was.  
>"Stop! I don't want to listen to any more of your mindless chatter. Please leave me alone! I'm sure there's someone else you can be insulting." I snapped.<br>The grin had vanished from Adeline's face, thank goodness, and she left the room without another word.  
>Relieved, I sank down onto my bed, massaging my neck. It was still sore, it didn't seem to be getting any better, but there hadn't been anymore mysterious bloody incidents, so that was an improvement.<p>

_"Ava_?"  
>My mothers voice broke through my thoughts, jolting me back up into a sitting position. She opened my bedroom door and stepped inside. The sight of me sat on the bed seemed to send her into a nervous breakdown.<br>"What are you doing! We have lots to do before tonight!"  
>I hoisted up what I hoped was a confused expression."But why? Tonight isnt any different than any other dinner we've ever hosted?" I asked curiously, getting up from my bed and heading over to my dressing table. Mother watched me closely, I could tell she was bursting to tell me. With what looked like a lot of effort, she smiled at me.<br>"You're right. Now, have you given any thought to what you might wear tonight, darling?"  
>Oh, this was too good of an opportunity to miss. I racked my brains for the least formal dress I owned before saying, "I had thought about wearing the grey one. You know, the one father bought me for my 18th birthday. I know its a bit on the small side and a little worn down but I love it."<br>As I'd hoped for, mother looked horrified.  
>"You can't wear that! Dear me, Ava! What about that lovely blue one your brother had made for Christmas? It brings out your eyes ever so nicely."<br>I shrugged as if the idea simply hadnt occurred to me. "I suppose I could wear that one." I said casually. I picked up my hairbrush from the dressing table and began to pull it through my hair.  
>"Here, let me do that," Mother took the brush for me and brushed my hair herself, just like she had when I was a little girl. She looked like she was trying not to cry. I guess to her, me getting engaged was like the end of an era; she'd be losing her little girl, her baby.<p>

"You look beautiful."  
>I jumped and span round. It was only Elijah, I hadn't heard his approach.<br>"You mustn't creep up on me like that!"  
>He laughed before opening his mouth to say something else, I assume, when he stopped. His eyes were fixed on my neck.<br>"What's that on your neck?"  
>I frowned and felt where he was looking. I felt a slight wetness and when I pulled my hand back, my fingers were stained crimson.<br>"Oh dear. This is the second time this has happened." I complained, placing my fingers back to feel for a wound. Unlike the first time, I found one. It was only a small one but it was there, nonetheless. I pressed my forefinger against it in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood.  
>I glanced at Elijah, his expression was strange, I couldn't make it out. He looked angry and concerned at the same time, though I couldn't think why, it was only a cut!<br>"Come. Lets get that cleaned up. You don't want your neck to be covered in blood when the big moment comes." He forced a laugh and took my hand, leading me towards the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, he grabbed a napkin from the side, held it under the faucet for a few seconds before turning to me and wiping the blood from my neck. I winced; it stung a little, but it was better than looking as though someone had attempted to take an axe to my neck.  
>I grabbed a dry napkin after I was finished with the wet one and dried my neck. Elijah watched me the whole time, that strange expression still haunting his face.<p>

"Are you ok?" I asked as I discarded the napkin. He seemed to notice that I had realised something was wrong, for he plastered a smile to his face.  
>"I'm more than ok. Come on, it's nearly time." He took my hand and lead me back to the main room where everyone was now assembled. The sound of people talking and laughing seemed to stop as we walked into the room. Every head turned to face us, it was unnerving.<p>

"I'd like to make a toast!"  
>My father was stood in the middle of the room, looking over at me and Elijah proudly. If I hadn't been in on the 'secret' then I would have wondered why he looked that way.<br>"For years I've been convinced that we'd never find a man to appease you, Ava. You're so stubborn, so headstrong, just like your mother." He glanced over at my mother, who gazed back lovingly. In that moment I realised how entirely wrong I'd been. How could I have missed it? They were in love. _So_ in love. I hadn't realised that because I'd never been in love before now. It seemed blindingly obvious now that I could see it.

"I would just like to say, that no matter who you marry, or if you dont marry at all, me and your mother will always love you, just as you are. We are so very proud of you, my love." He raised his goblet and everyone started clapping. I smiled over at him, mouthing the words 'thank you,' despite the fact I knew that if I _didn't _marry, he and mother would spend the rest of their lives trying desperately to find me a husband, as they had done since I was 15.

"Which brings me to what I would like to say."  
>Elijah had taken something from his pocket. I felt a spasm of nerves. I knew this had been coming, but now that it was happening, I wanted to run away. It was surreal!<br>I forced myself to stand still and look bewildered as Elijah got down on one knee. I let a flash of shock flit across my face as people around me gave a collective gasp and started to whisper.

"My mother gave me this ring when I was a young man and told me to give it to the person I wished to spend the rest of my life with. I've never wanted to give it to anyone, until now." I chanced a glance at my parents; they were looking on with unmistakable joy.  
>"Ava, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"<p>

I gazed down at him, all my nerves had dispersed, how could I have felt like running away? I blushed, I couldnt help it. The butterflies in my stomach had returned, the fire in my stomach was searing, it was such a pleasant feeling.  
><em>"Yes<em>."


	9. An Unwanted Visitor

**Ava's POV:**

After Elijah had slipped the ring - which was _beautiful _- onto my finger, everyone started milling around us uttering their congratulations and well wishes. When Louis and Adeline reached us, Louis drew me into a warm hug whilst Adeline stood by looking sour.  
>"Félicitations, ma sœur." He whispered in my ear. My smile widened, it had been so long since either of us had spoken in our mother tongue that it sounded strange to hear him speak it now.<br>"Merci," I whispered back, pulling away from the hug. Adeline was still looking sour, I guess she wasn't as pleased about the engagement as everyone else. Typical Adeline.

I was happy. The happiest I'd been in a long time. I hadn't exactly been unhappy before, but I hadn't been _happy_, not like I was now, I was content.

The ring on my left hand kept catching my eye, it was _so _beautiful. That reminded me, he'd said his mother had given him the ring when he was younger...it was the first time I'd ever heard him speak of his family.  
>"You said your mother gave you this ring?" I said quietly so that only Elijah could hear. He looked down at me and his expression seemed to harden. "Where is she? You never speak of her or any of your family."<br>Elijah seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before replying with "She's dead," he said in deadpan voice. His expression startled me, he looked like he was in genuine pain.  
>"Do you not have any other family? A father, siblings?" I pressed, realising how little I actually knew about him.<br>"I have siblings but I see them very rarely."  
>"That's not strictly true now is it, brother?"<br>I turned to see an unfamiliar man stood just behind Elijah. He was wearing a smirk which would have rivaled Adeline's. Elijah looked angry for a moment but managed to wipe it from his expression quickly.  
>He turned to face the man and said something to him that I couldn't hear. The man seemed to ignore him. He looked straight past him and at me. I wasn't sure I liked his expression.<br>"Aren't you going to introduce me to your fiancée, brother?"  
>Elijah turned around and I could see he was in no mood for me to question him on why he seemed to have lied about not seeing his siblings. He took my hand and held it tight, tighter than he'd been holding it before this man had arrived.<p>

"Ava, may I introduce you to my brother, Niklaus."  
>"Please, call me Klaus." He took my free hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it, all the while keeping his eyes fixated on mine.<br>"It's a pleasure to meet you, Klaus." I replied, pulling my hand away from his. He made me a little nervous. Elijah didn't seem too happy to have him around, either. I wondered if they'd had an argument or something of that sort in the past.

"And who's this?"

I turned to find Adeline stood beside me eyeing up Klaus appreciatively. What was she _doing?_ She seemed to have conveniently forgotten that she was married to my _brother._  
>"Adeline La Torre." She announced, holding her hand out to Klaus. She was unbelievable.<br>Klaus took her hand and kissed it, just as he had with mine.  
>"A pleasure, Adeline. My name is Klaus."<p>

Elijah gestured for me to follow him away from where Adeline and Klaus were getting acquainted. He took my hand and lead me through the crowd over to the other side of the room.  
>"I thought you didnt see any of your siblings much?" I asked him curiously, glancing over at where Adeline was now talking animatedly with Klaus who didn't seem to be very interested.<br>"We don't get along as well as we used to."  
>I nodded, I didn't want to press the subject when we were in a room full of people who were likely to eavesdrop. We had plenty of time to talk about it.<p>

**Elijah's POV:**

My happiness was short lived. Of course I was over the moon that me and Ava were now officially engaged but inconvenience had arrived in the form of Klaus. One of the maids must have invited him in. I knew my brother and I knew that this was not him trying to be a good brother and getting to know his future sister-in-law, this was him showing me how easy it was for him to get to Ava. I was angry but I knew better than to challenge him. I would have to tred carefully around him otherwise Ava was as good as dead.

Ava was with her parents. I watched from a distance as her mother gushed over the ring. I smiled to myself as I watched.  
>"I wonder how long its going to be before you take in what I told you, Elijah. A vampire's greatest weakness is love, and we are not weak, brother!"<br>I turned to face my brother who was also watching Ava and her parents.  
>"What are you doing here, Klaus?" I hissed angrily, snatching the goblet he was holding and set it down on the table. "You <em>said<em> you wouldn't come near her!"  
>"I thought I'd come along and join in the fun. If I'm going to stay a while it's important that I socialise."<br>I stared at him. I couldn't stop him, he was stronger and more powerful than me. The only thing I could do was try and make sure he harmed no one. It was wishful thinking.


	10. Speak of the Devil

**Ava's POV:**

Despite the pleasant events that were taking place, things around town were becoming strange and sinister. People were turning up dead, people I knew well, and the authorities seemed to have no idea as to who was causing it.  
>I'd heard my parents talking late one night when they thought I was asleep. Apparently the bodies that were found had all been drained of blood. It was strange, I couldn't even think of an animal that would do such a thing, never mind a human. The most recent attack was of a girl named Belle. The news of her death brought me a great deal of sadness; Belle had been a childhood friend of mine. She was so beautiful and kind-natured. She also had a husband and child, from what I had heard she had made an extremely good mother, her family must have been devastated upon receiving the news.<br>I thought it seemed selfish of me to go ahead with wedding plans when so many people were dying around me. I suggested that we postpone it, at least until who or what was causing these deaths was caught and brought to justice, but mother wouldn't hear of it.

"What kind of animal drains its victim's body of blood!" I exclaimed after Elijah suggested that the murderer might not be human.  
>He paused for a moment and opened his mouth as if to speak but thought better of it and merely shook his head.<br>"It's so sad. Belle was such a good person. Her husband and her son must be beside themselves." I mused, talking more to myself than to Elijah. "I should go and see them," I said suddenly, standing up. I couldn't believe the thought hadn't come to me before. I could go over, offer my condolences, small comfort though it might be, it's the thought that counts.  
>Elijah stood up just as abruptly as I had. He moved so fast that I barely registered it, it was a little startling.<br>"No!" He exclaimed, coming over to stand in front of me. "It's not safe out there for you to be wandering around alone. Now is not a good time, anyway. We have things to do and I'm sure that Belle's husband and son just want to be alone with their family right now." He reasoned, worry etched across his face.

"You're right. Though I _do_ hope they're ok. Maybe I could write a letter to them instead." I said, sitting back down. It was unnerving to think that something so simple as walking through our town could result in death.

"How's your brother?" I asked, wishing for a change of subject, talking about Belle's death was bringing me down and I was curious about Elijah's brother, I wasn't sure why but he was just as intriguing as Elijah.  
>Elijah's expression seemed to harden at the mention of his brother. "He's fine." He replied shortly.<br>"Adeline seemed to like him." I paused, remembering the appreciative looks Adeline had used on Klaus. Come to think of it, I'd seen her use them on Elijah, too. "Adeline seems to like you, too." I murmured with a frown, my intense dislike for Adeline deepening.  
>"Are you jealous?" I could hear the laughter in his voice and when I looked up the amusement was all over his face. His smile still gave me butterflies.<br>"Jealous of Adeline? I think not." I answered, rolling my eyes. I _wasn't_ jealous of Adeline, I disliked her, and knew her too well to trust her around those she deemed good looking enough. I didn't trust her.

What was that saying? _Speak of the devil and he doth appear_. Well in the case of Adeline, that was true. Mere seconds after I had said that I wasnt jealous of her, she walked in the room. She was wearing that horrible smirk she was almost always wearing.  
>"Ava, your mother wants to see you." She said, though her eyes were fixed on Elijah the whole time. I didn't particularly want to leave Elijah alone with Adeline but I trusted him. I hoped he could see through her just as I did.<p>

**Elijah's POV:**

The deaths in town were growing more frequent. It was Klaus, it had to be. He was getting careless by leaving the bodies all over the place. Or maybe he just didnt care.  
>One of Ava's friends was killed, she wanted to go over and offer her condolences, but I couldn't let her. It was too much of an opportunity for Klaus. All he had to do was lure her away from me, where I couldn't protect her, and he'd be able to do whatever he wanted with her. He'd kill her for sure, or play with her first though I was sure he was already having his fun with her; the night I'd proposed shed had a small cut on her neck, it was nothing much but she didn't seem to remember how shed got it and she said it was the second time it had happened. I also hadn't liked the way Klaus looked at her, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. He watched her every move, like a snake biding its time.<p>

"How's your brother?"  
>Ava's voice pulled me from the rush of unpleasant thoughts that were rushing through my head.<br>"He's fine." I replied shortly, not wanting to pursue the subject. I didn't want to get onto the subject of Klaus right now, though I knew she was curious...I'd have to tell her about it at sometime.

"Adeline seems to like him," She paused. I watched her closely as a frown formed on her forehead. "Adeline seems to like you, too." She murmured quietly, but I heard it perfectly as if she were stood right next to me.  
>"Are you jealous?" I asked. I was very slightly amused by the fact that Ava seemed to be jealous of her sister-in-law. It was true, Adeline was attractive but <em>I<em> wasn't attracted to her. She was also very shallow. Besides, my feelings for Ava were too strong to let anything ruin our engagement. I knew what I wanted and it wasn't Adeline.  
>"Jealous of Adeline? I think not."<br>Right at that very moment, Adeline herself entered the room. She didn't seem to acknowledge Ava's presence - her eyes were focused on me - until she said: "Ava, your mother wants to see you."  
>Ava looked between the two of us worriedly before getting up and leaving without a word, leaving me alone with Adeline. She walked over slowly before sitting herself down beside me, a little too close for comfort.<br>_"So,_ have you set a date yet?"  
>Assuming she meant for the wedding, I shook my head, tearing my gaze away from hers. "We only got engaged two days ago, Adeline."<br>"Me and Louis set the date the day we got engaged." Adeline replied, her smirk widening. Her expression was vindictive, like she had me cornered. She had no idea that I could kill her with a single movement.  
><em>"Maybe<em> you're subconsciously putting it off?" She continued, moving closer.  
>"Why on earth would I do that?" I inched away from her, trying to put a little space between us. Thankfully, Adeline was saved the trouble of replying by Ava's return.<br>"Having fun, Adeline?" Ava asked, her eyes flashing over to where we were sat.  
>"Very much so," Adeline got up and swept out of the room but not before glancing over her shoulder with what she obviously thought was a seductive smirk.<p>

"She is _unbelievable_." Ava burst out as soon as Adeline had left the room.  
>"You have <em>nothing <em>to worry about." I got up and walked over to her. I took her hands in mine and watched as a reluctant smile wiped the angry expression from her face.  
>"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow?"<br>Ava nodded, though she looked rather disappointed. "Do try and keep out of Adeline's way."  
>I chuckled and pressed my lips to her cheek before leaving. I had to find Klaus. I had to stop him.<p>

"Klaus?"  
>"Yes, brother?"<br>He came sauntering down the stairs, having compelled Quentin to let him stay, too. I would have protested but it was better to have him somewhere close so that I knew where he was.  
>"What are you doing!" I moved so quickly that a human would not have seen it, and pinned him against the wall by his neck. "You're drawing attention to our existence with all these conspicuous kills!" I hissed. "It stops now!"<br>Klaus dragged my hand away from his neck with ease and pushed past me.  
>"I haven't killed anyone, Elijah." He turned to face me. "But that doesn't mean I won't. Next time you speak to me like that I'll go straight for Ava and I'll tear that pretty white neck of hers open."<p>

I stared at him but I didn't dare make another rash move that might anger him. I knew him too well to take his threat as an empty one.  
>"Well if it isnt you, then who?"<br>"It seems that we are not the only vampires in town, brother. We're certainly the oldest and the strongest, but not the only."


	11. It's Not Safe Out There

**Elijah's POV:**

So there was another vampire in town. All we had to do was find out _who _it was and put a stop to the havoc they were wreaking.

The simplest plan would have been to slip vervain into everyone's beverage supply and whoever it took down was our perpetrator, but if the townspeople were ingesting vervain then we would be unable to compel them. Klaus didn't see this as a problem, he suggested that whoever we needed to compel and were unable to because of the vervain, we simply kill.

"That's exactly the behaviour that will draw even more attention to our existence." I told him calmly.

Klaus was becoming impatient, he wanted to move on in the search for Katerina, but I insisted we stay for a little way. Just until we had more to go on because at that moment we had little more than nothing. I wanted to stay long enough to marry Ava, then I'd be perfectly entitled to bring her with us under the pretence of moving to another town.

A voice at the back of my mind reprimanded me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to shield Ava from our world indefinitely. Sooner of later she would discover my secret whether I chose to tell her or not.

"I suggest you sort out your priorities, brother. As I recall, I told you that a vampire's greatness weakness is love. As my brother, I expected you to take my word for this, instead you go gallivanting off to Europe and fall in love with a human girl. Her life means _nothing, _Elijah. When will you see that?" Klaus snapped ill-naturedly. He hadn't taken my suggestion that I bring Ava along on the search for Katerina very well. I knew what he was thinking; he thought that it was Ava who had broken through my walls and forced me to care. He was wrong, I'd always cared. I'd had deep feelings for Katerina, despite that I told him otherwise. I was different from my brother, he chose not to feel, he chose to shut his humanity away so that he wouldn't feel guilt for his actions. I, however, didn't believe that shutting away my humanity was a smart move.

**Ava's POV:**

Since both my parents were busy, Elijah wasn't around and I was alone, I decided to pay a visit to my brother. I hadn't seen his and Adeline's new home yet. It would be strange to see Louis in a house of his own, it was just as strange as thinking of how I was likely to have a home of my own with Elijah in the upcoming months. It was an unfamiliar concept, I hadn't quite grasped it, yet.

It was a warm day so the walk over to Louis and Adeline's was a pleasant one. I knew that if Elijah knew that I was walking round on my own he'd be angry, which was exactly why I hadn't told anyone my plans. It was a short walk, what was the worst that could happen?

I arrived at their home, hoping that it would be Louis who greeted me and not Adeline. When I knocked on the door, however, I was greeted by one of their servants. I introduced myself as Louis' sister and she let me in.

When I asked where Louis was, she told me he had stepped out for a little while. Adeline, however, was upstairs if I wanted to talk to her. Thinking it would be rude if I refused to talk to Adeline, I thanked the woman and made my way up stairs.

"Adeline?" I called, hoping I wouldn't have to go from room to room looking for her. I didn't particularly want to see her or speak to her, but now I thought about it, now was the perfect time for me to confront her on her behaviour yesterday.

"_Adeline_?" I called again, only to receive no answer.

Sighing, I pushed open the first door I came to. It was empty. I repeated this 3 times down the hall way until I opened the 5th door and found Adeline in what I took to be her and Louis' room."Finally, did you not here me calling you?"

Adeline turned to face me slowly, an oddly serene expression dominating her face, that wasn't what caught my attention, though. Her neck and the front of her dress was covered in a suspicious, crimson liquid.

I gasped. "Adeline! Is that blood!" I rushed over to her to inspect the damage, only to find that there was none. "What happened!"

"Nothing."

"Adeline you're covered in blood!"

"I'm fine."

Her voice was calm - too calm. She seemed a little dazed. It was suspiciously like what had happened to me, there was blood but no wound. What was _happening_!

"We need to get you cleaned up." I muttered, looking around for something I could use to mop up the blood."I'm _fine, _Ava!" Adeline snapped, seemingly coming back to her usual self. I stared at her, how on earth wasn't she scared? I certainly had been when I'd woken up to find myself covered in blood. She glanced down at her dress, tutted and turned back to me."I would appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone."

I hesitated, I thought Louis should be informed, at least, but I had asked the same of Alexandre. If we started telling people that we had found ourselves covered in blood with no plausible explanation, we'd find ourselves being locked up for our own safety. "Of course."

"What brings you here anyway, Ava?"

"I wanted to see your new home."

"Is Elijah not with you?"

Any sympathy I might have been feeling for her disappeared in that moment. She had no subtlety. She might as well have said 'I want your fiancé for myself."

"No. He's not." I replied crossly. She was really beginning to test my patience. She was a married woman! I suddenly felt the urge to get as far away from Adeline as I possibly could, otherwise I might have given her a real injury."I must go. Please tell Louis that I stopped by, would you?"

Adeline nodded, she still wasn't completely herself, but I didn't want to stay around.

After Charlotte opened the front door for me, I walked into the hallway quietly. I could hear voices coming from the drawing room.

"I completely agree, Monsieur La Torre-"

"Please, my dear boy, call me Danton."

"Danton, I completely agree."

That was Elijah talking, I hadn't realised he was going to be paying a visit. "If I may, Monsieur…"

I froze, wasn't that his brother, Klaus' voice? I couldn't help but feel a little nervous whenever Klaus was around. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I had a weird feeling about him, a feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

In what I hoped was a stealthy manner, I crept to the top of the stairs and seated myself at the top where I was in the perfect position to hear exactly what they were talking about.

I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but I was curious as to what both Elijah and Klaus would want with my father. It couldn't be about the wedding, could it? If so, shouldn't I have been involved in the meeting?

"It's just not safe for her to be out there alone. What if she were to run into whoever has been carrying out these terrible murders?"

So it was a meeting about my safety, hmm? I got up from my hiding place on the stairs and made my way to my room. I was less than eager to listen in to a conversation that I was more than likely to disagree with. I _knew _that it was unsafe, I hardly think a 5 minute walk in broad daylight was going to bring me any harm.


	12. Shocking Revelations

**Ava's POV:**

I woke up abruptly to find myself fully-clothed on the end of my bed. I sat up, disorientated, I must have fallen asleep. I glanced at the clock on the far side of the room. It had been only an hour since I returned home. It was still light outside. I didn't even remember laying down on my bed to go to sleep. The last thing I remembered was entering my room.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, I looked a little dishevelled.

Shaking my head at myself, I got up from my bed and headed out of my room. I passed Alexandre who was looking a little nervous. "Where are my parents?" I asked her, looking around, expecting to see them emerging from a room, smiling.

"They stepped out. They wished to get some fresh air."

I nodded and began making my way down the stairs when I heard raised voices coming from the drawing room, whose door was now closed. I turned back to Alexandre with a quizzical look, she merely shook her head and hurried off.

Curious, I descended the stairs slowly, trying to listen to what the voices were saying. It was Elijah and Klaus but I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying.

My head was hurting and their raised voices was doing anything but help that, therefore it was with ill grace that I pushed open the door of the drawing room and interrupted their argument to find out _why_ they felt the need to argue so loudly.

"What's going on in here?"

Elijah, who was stood on the far side of the room, didn't even look at me. His eyes were fixated on his brother with such intense dislike it unnerved me. "Ava, go."

I opened my mouth to protest, I would _not_ be told what to do in my own house, when Klaus, who was closest to the door, turned to face me. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me inside the room before slamming the door shut behind him."No, don't go. Please, join us."

Confused and a little nervous, I looked between to two of them, wondering what could be causing them to fight this way. Be and Louis barely fought, and when we did, we resolved it in such a way that didn't involve raising our voices.

"You see, brother, I'm beginning to question your dedication to this search." Klaus snarled. "And we both know why that is." He took my hand and drew me close to him. He surveyed my face closely for a moment before turning me to face Elijah. He brushed my hair away from my neck and placed his hand under my chin. "I ordered you to find Katerina, and you've let your attention wander."

I struggled to free myself from Klaus' hold, I was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation and Elijah didn't seem to be doing anything. He stood, a few feet away from us, staring at Klaus helplessly.

"Please, don't do this." He pleaded. "I will find Katerina, I give you my word."

"You gave me your word 10 years ago, brother, and you still haven't found her!"

I had no idea what on earth they were talking about, or who Katerina was, but I was scared. Klaus was unnaturally strong. My struggles against his hold were going all but unnoticed. I was unable to break his hold, no matter how much strength I put into it.

"We do not _feel_, Elijah. I was willing for you to come to terms with that on your own, but that was before you let this one take a hold of your heart. I did warn you that if you spoke to me like that again, I'd tear out her throat."

"What!" I whispered. I'd meant for it to come out as defiant, but my voice seemed to have given up on me.

Elijah came forward a few steps, I didn't hear what he said, but he seemed to be pleading with his brother, begging him not to do whatever he was about to.

"I could have compelled her not to feel any pain, but I think it's more fun this way, don't you?"

My heart was racing. If I had been scared before, it was nothing to how I felt now. I was terrified. I had been right to have a strange feeling about Klaus.

The hand that he had placed under my chin pulled my head to the side so that my neck was exposed and I felt his teeth sink into my neck.

"NO!" I heard Elijah shout as Klaus' teeth sank deeper into my flesh.

I cried out in pain as I felt the blood start seeping down my neck. I struggled to break free, but my attempts were weak. I could feel the life ebbing from my body, yet the pain was increasing. After what seemed like hours, Klaus relinquished his hold on me as Elijah came at him. I didn't see him approach but as Klaus let me drop to the floor, Elijah had him forced up against the wall. And that's when it all went black.

**Elijah's POV:**

I had just watched my brother tear the throat of the girl I had hoped to spend the rest of my long, long life with. Unable to believe it, I sped across the room and pinned him against the wall. Had I been able to kill him, I would have.

"_What have you done!_" I roared, placing my hand around his neck. "I told you I would find Katerina!"

"We both know that whilst Ava was alive, she would have been your first priority. She would have drawn you into her world, a world you do not belong in, Elijah!"

We must have carried on like that for at least 2 hours. Klaus was angry, I was hurt. We could have smashed the house to bits if we'd have been so inclined.

After assuring me that if I continued to rage at him, he would kill me, Klaus approached Ava's body. He knelt down beside her and made to move her hair from out of her face. I was at his side before his hand could make contact. "Don't touch her!" I snarled, knocking his hand out of the way. Klaus glared at me but seemed to realise he had done enough damage for the day. He got up and backed away, seating himself on a chair at the far side of the room.

I lifted Ava's body from the floor and carried her over to the chaise lounge in the corner. She was beautiful even in death. She looked so peaceful she could have been sleeping.

I laid her down on the lounger and turned to face Klaus. He was watching me resentfully.

I was about to ask him to leave when a gasp from behind me diverted my attention. I turned around to find Ava sat up in on the chair, looking from me to my brother in shock.

"Ava!"

"What happened!" She gasped, getting up from the chair. "Everything went black, he killed me." She turned to Klaus. "_You _killed me."

"Yes, I did." Klaus replied slowly, surveying her closely. "Did you feed her your blood?" He asked me, still watching Ava."No. Did you?" "No. My aim was to kill her."

"Can you _please _be _quiet_!" Ava shouted, clutching her head.

"She's in transition." Klaus said quietly, getting up from his seat to stand in front of Ava. He made to cup her face with his hands but she moved away, casting him a terrified glance. "My head hurts," She murmured, turning to me. I could see it in her eyes, she had no idea what was happening to her and she was frightened. "What's happening to me? Klaus killed me, how am I alive?" She put a hand to her neck to feel where Klaus had ripped through her carotid artery, but there was nothing there. She turned to look at Klaus. She stared at him for a moment apparently confused."You fed from me." She stated, still staring at I had been right. My dearest brother had been having his wicked way with my fiancée. He'd been feeding from her and then compelling her to forget. So typical of him.

"You enjoyed it." Klaus said without a hint of remorse.

"No, I didn't. I was terrified!" Ava exclaimed. Tearing her gaze away from Klaus, she turned to me. "What's happening to me? Tell me, please."

I took one of her hands in mine and used the other one to brush her hair from her face."You're transitioning." I told her, wishing more than anything that I could have given her any other answer than that.

"Transitioning into what?""A vampire."

**Ava's POV:**

"A vampire? A vamp- is this a joke?"

"I wish it were."

Ignoring the dull pain that was coursing through my body, I pulled away from Elijah. I was disorientated, I couldn't make sense of the situation. I was about to ask how that was even possible when another memory hit me.

"Raoul," I muttered as the memory played out in my head."Excuse me?" Elijah replied, looking down on me with concern. "Raoul, he fed off me also. He was waiting for me in my room. He grabbed me after I closed the door. I was so scared, I begged him not to, but he just laughed. He bit down on my neck, it hurt, and he fed from me. He fed me his blood afterwards and it must have healed me, then he made me forget." I murmured. I was thinking aloud, relaying the memory to myself.

"Well, there you have it, brother. I assume it was this Raoul that was killing the locals. Lucky, really, that he marked down Ava as a victim." Klaus winked at me, he was treating the whole situation as if it were a joke. He made to leave, but another memory resurfaced.

"Klaus, what was the name you spoke of before you killed me? You said a name."

Elijah took my hand and pulled me back out of Klaus' reach. Klaus frowned."I said Katerina. Why?"

"She was here."


	13. Demon of the Night

**Ava's POV:**

Both Elijah and Klaus stared at me as if they were seeing me for the first time. Klaus came forward, all traces of humour wiped from his face. I flinched away from him, scared that he was going to attempt to kill me again.

My expression, which was both confused and scared was wiped blank as the rest of the memory returned.

_It was late one night, everyone else was asleep, even the servants. I had woken up and found myself unable to fall back to sleep. After lying in my bed for a short while, I got up and made my way downstairs. I planned on making myself a drink and perhaps finding a book to read until I felt tired again. _

_I lit the candles in the hallway so that I wouldn't have to feel my way through the darkness and proceeded to the kitchen. I was about to make myself a drink when I heard a knock at the door. I looked at the clock, it was past midnight, who on earth was paying a visit at this time?_

_I walked out of the kitchen and over to the front door. Upon opening it, I found myself facing a girl a few years younger than me. She looked scared and dishevelled. I wondered when was the last time she'd had a chance to wash. She had long, dark hair that fell in curls past her waist. They would have looked luxurious except they were tangled together. She was olive-skinned with dark eyes and her dress, though it looked as though it had once been magnificent was pockmarked with dirt and frayed. "I'm so sorry to bother you so late at night, but I desperately need somewhere to stay." She said as soon as I opened the door. Normally, I wouldn't have invited someone who turned up on my doorstep in the dead of night into our home, but she genuinely looked as though she needed my hospitality."Of course. Please, come on in. Though you'll have to be quiet, everyone else is asleep."_

_She thanked me graciously and stepped inside the house. Her face was thrown into sharp relief as she stepped into the light. I ushered her through to the kitchen, she looked as though she could use a strong drink. _

_After locating my fathers wine cabinet - I wasn't exactly sure why my father even _had _a wine cabinet. He didn't like wine - and poured us both a goblet. After handing her hers, I took a swig from mine, watching her closely._

"_What is your name?" I asked her._

"_Katerina Petrova. What is yours?"_

"_Nice to meet you, Katerina. My name is Ava."_

_She smiled in response, though it looked as if it was forced._

"_I hope you don't mind my asking, but what has happened to you?"_

_The smile faded from her features and she set down her goblet. She took a seat at the kitchen table and gestured for me to do the same."I don't normally disclose this, but I have to tell someone. I have to get it off my chest. It's a long story, so please, just listen."_

_Intrigued, I sat down opposite her and nodded in consent."A few years ago, I was sent by my family to live in England. I met a fair few people over there, all of whom were perfectly lovely, but most importantly, I met three men: Trevor, Elijah and Klaus. I caught the eye of Klaus, who was a noble Englishman, as was his brother Elijah. Me and Klaus began a courtship, and I was rather taken with him until I found out why he was really interested in me._

_Klaus was not a regular man. He was a vampire, an _old _vampire as was his brother, Elijah, and he needed me to break a curse that prevented vampire's from walking in the sun unprotected. In order to break the curse, he needed to kill me. As soon as I found this out, I decided to run away. I was only 17, I didn't want to die. Klaus sent his brother, Elijah, Trevor and a small group of other vampires to search for me so I used Trevor, who was in love with me, to help me escape. He gave me the directions to a house where he said I would receive help. There, I found a human woman and another vampire, Rose, who was Trevor's friend. As soon as she realised who I was, she told me she would take me back to Klaus at nightfall. I attempted to kill myself, for I would have rather died than return to Klaus, but Rose discovered what I had attempted to do and force fed me her blood which healed me. I knew that if I really killed myself, I would transition into a vampire and therefore be no use to Klaus anymore so I hung myself. When I woke up, I fed off the blood of the human woman which turned me into a vampire. And then I ran. I returned to my home in Bulgaria, only to find that Klaus had slaughtered my entire family. He'll search for me incessantly until he finds me and kills me."_

_She paused, drawing breath for a moment. "I am so scared. I have no idea how long I can run for, but I cannot stop."_

_I had been gaping at her the whole time. Was she serious? Vampires? Really? It all sounded like some intricate story she'd made up to trick me, but I couldn't see why she would go to all that trouble? _

_I was about to ask her if it was a joke, when she appeared, as if my magic, in front of me. I jumped, I hadn't seen her move._

"_Thank you, for listening, but," She kneeled down in front of me so that she was at my eye level, "You're going to forget that this encounter ever happened. You're going to forget that you ever met me and you're going to forget everything I told you."_

"And then I blinked and she was gone." I finished. A terrible realisation hit me as I looked up at the two brothers that were both staring intently at me. They were both vampires. Dangerously, powerful vampires. They had wanted to kill Katerina. Klaus _had _killed me. Terror washed through me. I had to get out, to put as much space between us as possible.

"I'm just going to go and get a drink," I murmured, edging towards the door. Klaus and Elijah were silent, obviously still thinking about the girl. I took this to mean that they had no objections, and I left the room. I wasted no time in hurrying through the hallway to the front door and letting myself out. It was dark by this time, though the air was still warm. I shut the front door behind me as quietly as I could and then I ran. I ran as fast as I could away from the house. I was still disorientated so I staggered slightly every few steps. The world seemed to be spinning and I struggled to keep myself up right. I had no idea where exactly I was going, I just had to get away.

I came to a halt when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure moving. Trying as hard as I could to focus, I took a few, faltering steps towards them. As I drew closer, I realised it was Raoul. Raoul who had fed from me as a human and then force fed me his blood. He looked busy. It was only when I got within earshot that I realised he was in the middle of feeding from another poor, defenceless girl. He must have heard my approach because he drew away from the neck of his victim to look at me. A wicked grin swept across his face when he saw me."Ava, what are you doing out at this time? It's not safe, you know."

I wasn't listening to him, though. All my senses seemed to have fixated on the blood pouring from the poor girl's neck. It drew me forward like a magnetic force. "Ava?" Raoul repeated, watching me curiously as I drew closer to the girl.

I ignored him. The blood was calling to me. I extended my arm and wiped my index finger across her neck, pulling it back when it was stained with her blood.

Slowly, I raised the finger to my lips to taste the blood. It tasted _good. _Better than I could ever have imagined. Without a second thought, I replaced Raoul as the monster that was feeding from her. My mouth clamped around the wound at her neck and I began to drink.

I pulled back only when Raoul shouted my name, causing me to whip round defensively. His eyes widened and I knew exactly why. I could feel the fangs where my canine teeth should have been. I was a monster.


	14. Eternally 21

**Ava's POV:**

"This is _all_ your fault!" I snarled at Raoul before taking off. I could move _fast_. If my feet hadn't been touching the ground, I would have thought I was flying. I ran like I'd never ran before. I couldn't go back, not whilst Klaus and Elijah were around. Surely they'd kill me? Klaus had already had one go.

The girl, Katerina, had told me that she had run away from Klaus when she was still a human. Well I was now a vampire and I could move faster than she could have, maybe I could run. I could start a new life some place else where neither Klaus or Elijah could find me. I could be someone new.

"Ava?"

I span round to find Elijah stood behind me, watching me warily. He took a few tentative steps towards me to which I backed away from. "Leave me alone!" I hissed, turning away with he intention of running again, only to find him stood in front of him. He was faster than me, and if he was faster I was willing to bet he was stronger, too. "Look, I know that everything must be incredibly confusing and upsetting for you right now, but please, just give me a chance to explain." I felt a surge of anger, why on earth should I let him explain? If it wasn't for him I'd still be me, I'd still me human. He had indirectly turned me into a monster.

"I don't want you to explain, I want you to leave!" I exclaimed as tears began to run down my face. What _was_ that? My emotions were all over the place, switching from one to the other with barely a seconds notice.

"Please, I need to explain. If, after that, you still want me to leave then I promise you I will leave and you'll never see me again."

I hesitated, despite the fact that I was still terrified of what he and his brother were capable of, it didn't change the way I felt about him and he hadn't done anything to hurt me so far, unlike Klaus.

"Fine." I replied shortly. He put his hand out, presumably to take mine, but I flinched away. He looked hurt for a moment but he didn't say anything. He let his arm drop to his side and gestured for me to follow him back to the house.

We walked in silence for a few minutes before I decided to break it.

"Where's Klaus?" I asked, the utter resentment perfectly clear in my tone.

"He went back to where we are staying. I suggested that having him around wouldn't be in your best interests given the circumstances."

I scoffed disdainfully. I assumed that 'circumstances' was a euphemism for Klaus ripping out my throat and killing me.

We walked the rest of the way in dead silence. I didn't want to talk, even though I had scores of questions that I was dying to ask.

Once we arrived back at the house, I saw that all the lights had been distinguished meaning everyone else was asleep."Where are my parents? And the maids?" "All asleep, except for Charlotte. I had to compel the maid, Alexandre, she heard the shouting and assumed the worst, so I had to take away her memory of it. Charlotte didn't hear anything, which is fortunate, because you need someone to invite you into the house."

"I need inviting in? For what reason do I need to be invited in?"  
>"It's a requirement if you're a vampire."<br>Without answering, I turned away and knocked on the door. Charlotte answered it, she looked surprised that we had been out so late but it wasn't her job to ask questions.  
>"Please, come in." She bobbed a curtsy and stepped aside, allowing us to walk inside.<p>

I led the way up to my bedroom, figuring that we were less likely to be disturbed in there.

I locked the door of my room, drew the curtains and lit the candles before turning to face him. He was sat on the edge of my bed evidently waiting for me to join him. I sat next to him, though as far away as was possible.

"First things first. Why did Klaus kill me?"

Elijah sighed, I wasn't sure I was going to like the answer - I wasn't sure there would ever be an answer I liked to the question 'why did Klaus kill me?' - and clasped his hands together.

"As a vampire, you have the ability to turn off your emotions. However, if you choose not to, everything to feel is magnified. Klaus believes that a vampire's greatest weakness is love, and as the oldest vampire's in the history of time, we should have no weakne-"

"I'm sorry, you're the oldest vampires in the history of _time_!" I interrupted, my jaw falling open. "Yes. We are the Originals."

I looked away from him, unable to maintain eye contact whilst processing this piece of information.

"Anyway," he continued, taking advantage of my momentary silence, "Klaus believes that we should not allow ourselves to become weak.

Where Katerina was involved, I did let myself become weak. I developed feelings for her and wished to find a way to keep her alive after the sacrifice took place. When she escaped, Klaus believed that I had said something to her which caused her to run. I hadn't, but it caused a rift between us. Katerina was Klaus' only chance to break the curse of the sun and the moon as the sacrifice cannot be done without the doppelganger.

I came here with the intention of looking for Katerina and nothing else, but then I met you. I didn't bank on developing feelings for someone that were stronger than those I had had for her, but here I am. Klaus saw this and decided to show me how foolish it was for me to fall in love with a human. I think that he thought that by killing you, it would prevent me from falling for anyone ever again, knowing how easily he could get to them and kill them." He paused, looking down at his clasped hands instead of me. "He didn't count on you becoming a vampire, but you being a vampire is worse than dying indefinitely. I would never wish this on anyone."

"You'd rather I'd _died_!" I exclaimed indignantly.

"Being a vampire isn't all it's cracked up to be. You'll have to leave everyone you love and care for before they realise that you aren't ageing. You're going to kill people. You're going to become a completely different person than you are today."

I stared at him, too dumbfounded for words.

"You're going to lose that pure innocence that I love so much about you." He looked up and I could see genuine pain in his expression.

"So I'm going be 21 forever?"Elijah nodded.

"And is drinking blood a necessity?"

"If you don't, your body will mummify. You'll be alive, but barely. It's an extremely painful process."

I stared, blindly, at the space in front of me. It was too much to take on. How was I supposed to live this way? I'd have to leave everyone behind. My parents, my brother, I was even sad at the prospect of leaving Adeline behind.

"I don't want to be a vampire!" I cried, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. "I don't want this life! I don't want to leave my family or have to kill people! That's not who I am!"

Elijah reached for my hand again, and this time I didn't flinch away. He seemed to take this as a good sign for he - albeit, hesitantly - wound his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"I'm so sorry." He murmured, stroking my hair. I didn't have the energy to pull away. I was still scared of him, just because he wasn't lashing out now didn't mean he wouldn't. If his emotions were anything like mine, they would change as often as the weather.

"You know, this doesn't have to change anything. Not if you don't want it to. We can stay here for a while, get married, start a life. We wouldn't have to leave for a few years." He whispered, sounding hopeful. I wanted to laugh, it all sounded so mundane now. "I'm in no position to make that decision right now. I need time to adjust, to work out what I really want now."

"Do you want me to leave?" His voice sounded constricted, as though he was trying to stop himself from crying. This unnerved me.

I hesitated. "…no."


	15. I Promise

**Ava's POV:**

The days following my transformation were strange to say the least. I requested that Elijah stay away for a couple of days, just until I could get my head around being a vampire.

Everything was heightened. All my senses seemed to have increased a hundredfold.

I was also faster and stronger and _hungry_. I knew that what I was craving was blood, but I refused to give into that just yet. The longer I could hold it off the less people I had to hurt.

I tried to distance myself from my parents, I knew that they would want to discuss wedding plans and I couldn't think about that just now.

"Ava? Darling, could you come down here for a moment?"

I sighed. I didn't want to talk to my mother. Or anyone, at that moment, but I couldn't stay holed up in my room. Slowly, I walked out of my room and to the top of the stairs where my mother stood, peering up at me."Ah, there you are! Come along now, sweetheart."

I walked down the stairs, trying to keep my thoughts away from how utterly satisfying it would be to rip her throat out. I shook myself internally, I had to control myself, was I really going to allow myself to become someone who would hurt her own family for her own gain?

"What is it, mother?" I asked when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"We need to sort you out a dress for the wedding."

I groaned, the last thing I wanted to do was pick out a dress. The way things were going, there wouldn't even be a wedding.

I reached up to push a stray strand of hair from my face when the ring on my left hand caught my eye. I remembered how happy I'd been when Elijah had slid it onto my finger. How proud my parents had been. How deep in love I'd been falling. Being turned into a vampire hadn't changed the way I felt about Elijah, if anything it had increased it. And then it hit me. Why did anything have to change? If what Elijah said was true, then I'd be able to stay for a few years, I didn't have to leave anyone behind just yet. Elijah hadn't wanted me to turn, it wasn't his fault, it wasn't anyone's fault (except Klaus'). I had two choices: I could continue to mope and isolate myself from those I cared about or I could just accept it. I could accept it and start living my life. I was a vampire, there was nothing I could do about it now.

"…So I was thinking that ivory would be a nice colour for your dress. And we coul-"

"Mother?" I interrupted, having not been listening to a word she had been saying. "You haven't seen Elijah, have you? I need to talk to him."

"Elijah? No, dear. I expect he's at home."

"Ok, well I have to go and see him now. " I walked away from her and down the hallway, heading for the front door.

"But Ava! What about the dress?""Later, mother." I called, pulling open the front door, stepping out and slamming it behind me. I winced, I'd slammed it a little harder than I'd intended. I didn't know my own strength.

Elijah was staying with a man named Quentin. I assumed that Klaus was staying there also, though I hoped very much that I wouldn't run into _him_.

"Good afternoon, Monsieur Badeaux." I said as soon as Quentin had pulled open the door after my series of urgent knocks.

"Mademoiselle La Torre, how lovely to see you." Quentin replied with a smile."And you. By any chance, is Elijah here?"

"He is indeed." He turned, presumably to call Elijah for me, but Elijah, who would have - no doubt - heard me, appeared behind him almost instantly.

"Can we please talk?" I asked, looking over Quentin's shoulder at him.

Elijah nodded and stepped around Quentin and out of the house.

"It was nice to see you, Monsieur Badeaux." I said politely. Quentin returned this with a smile and shut the door.

Elijah and I walked in silence for a few minutes. I wanted to get far enough from the house so that if Klaus were there, he wouldn't be able to eavesdrop.

"I was under the impression you didn't want to see me for a few days?" Elijah said eventually, coming to a halt.I took a deep breath. For the first time in my life I was about to bear all my feelings shamelessly out in front of me.

"I was terrified of what I was becoming. I still am. I've never, in my life, hurt anyone before, and now? I have to stay away from my family because when I'm around them I get these urges. Urges to kill every single one of them. It's scares me to my very core that I'm even having these thoughts, but I'm going to try my hardest to overcome them…and I want you to help me. You're older than me, you're controlled. I would have never guessed what you are had I not become one myself. If I want to be able to spend time around those I care about, I need someone to help me control myself, someone like you." I paused and looked up from the spot of ground that I'd been fixated on. Elijah was surveying me thoughtfully. "I realised that, despite the fact I seem to becoming a cold-blooded killer, it doesn't change the way I feel about you." I tried to look him in the eye, but it was like trying to look directly into the sun. I turned away from him, looking up, instead, at the sky."I love you, Elijah. I don't want to walk away from this, not now."

I fell silent and waited with bated breath for his reaction. I didn't dare look at him. I was afraid that by asking him to stay away for a few days whilst I pulled myself together, I'd offended him and pushed him away.

My whole body relaxed when I felt him behind me. He rested one hand on my waist and used the other to brush my hair from my neck. He brushed his lips against my jawbone before murmuring "I love you, too."

He turned me round so that I was facing him and took both of my hands in his. "We'll work through this together. I won't let you hurt any of your family, I promise."


	16. Unwanted Attention

**Ava's POV:**

I felt marginally better having resolved things with Elijah, though I still hadn't completely wrapped my head around being a vampire. It wasn't getting any easier and having my senses heightened was disorientating, not to mention the cravings that I was still getting to kill innocent people.

Because I wanted to find out if there was a way to control these absurd cravings, I gave my mother the slip, again, and paid a visit to Elijah.

Quentin invited me into the house and told me that Elijah had stepped out not long ago, but was due back soon and I would be welcome to step inside and wait for him.

I thanked him and made my way inside where one of his servants welcomed me and asked if I would care for something to drink. I smiled and politely declined, not mentioning the fact that I'd have liked to tear through her flesh and drink her blood.

I was under the impression that apart from Quentin and his servants, I was alone in the house, until…

"Good afternoon, Ava."

I span round to find Klaus stood close behind me. Scared, as I now was whenever I thought about Klaus, I took an involuntary step back. "Klaus." I acknowledged, taking another step back, unwilling to turn my back on him. He could see that I was scared of him and this only seemed to please him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, speaking to me as though we were merely two normal people engaging in a perfectly innocent conversation."With all due respect, Klaus, I didn't come here to see you." I snapped.

He adopted a wounded look. "Oh, Ava. Carry on that way and you'll hurt my feelings."

I glared at him, how could he treat this as a joke? He'd _killed _me! Was that something he was willing to take lightly?

He moved, so fast that had I still been human I wouldn't have seen it, forwards so that he was stood mere inches away from me, if that. I was scared. The last time we'd been this close he'd bared his teeth and torn out my throat. My terror seemed to spur him on, for he raised his hand and brushed it across my cheek. A flash of confusion flittered across my face. What was he _doing_?

"For what it's worth, sweetheart, I'm almost glad you came back as a vampire."

A surge of anger rose inside me. He didn't care. It was nothing to him that he'd almost ended my life. It meant little to him that by doing that he would have hurt not only my family, but his own brother as well. I _hated_ him, but I knew better than to tell him this. He'd killed me once, I didn't want to give him occasion to do it again.

His hand was now sweeping down my jaw line. I resisted the urge to flinch away. I hated the look on his face. It was a mixture of amusement and satisfaction. I fought back the longing to hit him around the face and turned away, manoeuvring myself deftly away from him. "You killed me, Klaus." I reminded him. "I'd prefer it if you didn't invade my personal space like that in future."

It hadn't occurred to me that, as a vampire, killing people must be something of a second nature to him.

Klaus opened his mouth to retort when he was interrupted by the arrival of Elijah. Relief washed through me. Elijah was staring at Klaus, he looked as angry as I felt, if not more."What's going on?" He demanded, still glaring at his brother.

"I was just apologising to Ava for killing her." Klaus replied pleasantly.

"Apologising? Is that what you call it?" I replied scathingly.

Elijah's gaze lingered on his brother for a long moment whilst Klaus glared back before he took my hand and began to lead me away from Klaus. "Come. Let us leave my brother in peace. I need a word with your father about the wedding."

Without looking back, I let him lead me out of the house, away from Klaus.

"My brother seems to have taken quite an interest in you." Elijah said quietly as soon as we left the house.I was confused, how could he think that? He'd watched his brother kill me!"I'm not sure I understand." I replied, looking up at him. His expression was hard and cold, I'd never seen him look that way before."I think that, perhaps, my brother may have had other motives for killing you." He paused and looked at me as though he was wondering whether or not to continue.

"I believe my brother may have feelings for you…I think he killed you because he was jealous."

I stared at him incredulously. He couldn't be serious? Despite myself, I let out a shocked burst of laughter."Elijah, when a man has feelings for a lady, he goes about trying to impress her, or getting to know her, like you did. He does not kill her." I told him, still staring at him.

"Klaus is not like most men." Elijah said shortly, tearing his gaze away from mine.

"For arguments sake, if it happens that Klaus _does_ have feelings for me, what difference does that make? I love _you_, Elijah. Klaus murdered me with the sole intent of ending my life, I am scared of him! Whether or not Klaus has feelings for me, I have no desire to act on that. It may have escaped your notice but I agreed to marry you. _You_."

Elijah stared over my head for a brief moment before bringing his gaze back down to mine. I was staring up at him sincerely. I hoped that Klaus wasn't going to become an issue between me and Elijah.

Looking slightly reassured, Elijah changed the subject. I was glad. Klaus was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

"So, for what reason did you come looking for me?" he said, taking my hand again as we started to walk through town."I wanted to ask you a question…" I began hesitantly, realising how uncomfortable I was to talk about it."Yes?" He prompted."These…cravings. The cravings for blood, the cravings to kill people. They seem to be increasing instead of settling down." I paused. "Don't you get them?"

"I'm an old vampire, Ava. I've learnt to control them."

"_How _do you control them?"

"It's a mixture of time and self-restraint. If you feed frequently then the cravings will subside for a while. As long as you don't starve yourself, otherwise you'll become half-crazed for blood."

I sighed, the idea of feeding on someone's blood was both disgusting and highly appealing to me.

"But if I feed on someone, It'll kill tem, won't it?"

"No. When Klaus fed off you, do you remember what he did afterwards?"

I thought hard. I had been so consumed with terror that the whole ordeal seemed like a blur, but after a moment's thought, it hit me."He fed me his blood.""Exactly, he fed you his blood. That's why you'd find yourself covered in blood with no wound. Vampire blood heals humans. You can feed from a human, heal them with your blood and then compel them to forget. It draws attention to us if we leave bodies about the place, as I suspect Raoul is doing." He frowned. "That reminds me, I must remember to deal with him."

I was silent, it was a lot to consider. I hoped that I would be able to restrain myself from becoming like Raoul. Compared to Elijah, he truly was a monster. I'd never seen Elijah loose control or, in fact, act like a monster at all. He was a true gentleman. It was hard to believe that he was actually a vampire.


	17. Murder Mystery

**Elijah's POV:**

In addition to Ava's recent transition into a vampire, the two weeks leading up to mine and Ava's wedding were hectic. They were full of fittings for everyone's outfits, formal dinners, emergency meetings with tailors, sorting out places of residence for distant relatives that were coming into town for the wedding. Even for me it was emotionally exhausting having to engage in conversations with all of these people and keep Klaus from causing trouble at the same time. As much as I couldn't wait to make Ava my wife, I also couldn't wait for the wedding to be over. As well as making preparations for the wedding, we had to plan feeding schedules - for Ava, more than me - so that she wouldn't be tempted to kill anyone during the wedding. It was unfortunate, to say the least, that Ava's transition had coincided with the wedding but we'd both agreed that the best thing to do was to go ahead with it. I'd given her the option of cancelling, given the fact she was having trouble controlling her urges as was common with new vampires, but she wouldn't hear of it.

When the wedding was only 4 days away, Ava's parents hosted another dinner for her relatives. As it transpired, there were quite a few. There were her grandparents, both maternal and paternal. Aunts and uncles from both sides of her family and a handful of cousins.

Once I arrived at the house, Alexandre ushered me inside. I could hear the voices coming from the dining room where I could see people milling around, enjoying refreshments. I was to wait for Ava so that we could enter together.

I didn't have to wait long. I'd been waiting only a moment when she came hurrying down the stairs looking rather irritable.

"What's wrong?" I asked her as she reached the bottom and took my hand.

She glared at me. "What's wrong? I have to go and socialise with my family and I haven't fed in a few days so all I can think about is how I want to kill every single one of them!" she said hysterically, making sure to keep her voice down so that no one else would hear us.

"I want you to listen to me," I said, stroking her hair back off her face. "Whilst I'm here, I'm not going to let you hurt anyone. I said that I'd help you work through this and that's what I'm going to do."

Her grip on my hand tightened but she seemed to relax a little. She nodded though she still looked worried.

"Ok." She replied, nodding.

After a moment, she gave me a smile and led the way into the dining room. She put on a good show as everyone turned to face us, but I could see the strain it was having on her. Had I been in one of my more murderous frames of mind, I might have suggested that the two of us slaughter the whole lot of them for the sheer fun of it, but I hadn't been that way in a long time.

"For those of you who don't know may I introduce to you all, my daughter's fiancé, Elijah." Came Danton's announcement as soon as he noticed we had entered the room.

Immediately we were surrounded by relatives all clamouring to introduce themselves. I cast a sideways glance at Ava, she seemed to be staring fixatedly at the neck of the man stood in front of her.

Thinking that the mood of the party would probably be ruined if Ava were to kill one of her relatives, I tactfully removed her from the situation.

"It's so nice to meet you, please, excuse us." I said pleasantly to those around us before pulling us both away.

"I'm sorry." She hissed as soon as we got far enough away. "I can't help it, it's so overwhelmi-"

"Brother!"

Both Ava and I froze. We looked at each other before turning to find Klaus striding through the crowd towards us. "What is he doing here?" Ava hissed.

"Careful, my lovely, you'll hurt my feelings." Klaus replied as he arrived in front of us.

I glared at him. "What are you doing here, Klaus?"

"I couldn't miss a dinner hosted in honour of my brother's upcoming marriage, could I?""He's not coming to th- you are not coming to the wedding." Ava cut in.

"There's really nothing you can do to stop me, beautiful."

Ava gaped wordlessly at him for a moment before storming off and striking up a conversation with one of her cousins.

"You need to leave, Klaus."

"I'd rather not. The fun is just starting. How is Ava doing by the way? It can't be easy for her to be surrounded by all these highly edible humans?"

I stared at him…he wouldn't? If he did something to compromise Ava's restraint - which was shaky already, to say the least - we'd have to leave right away. The wedding would never happen, Ava would have to leave her entire family behind, she wasn't ready for that. I'd promised her we wouldn't have to go yet.

"Klaus," I said quietly, leading him away from an uncle who was showing signs of wanting to start a conversation. " I know that feelings are an entirely foreign concept for you, but please, for just one moment, try and put yourself in her position. Ava wants to be able to get through this evening without killing anyone. I'm asking you not to do anything that might make that a possibility. If you can't do it for her, at least try and do it for me, I'm your brother!"

"Elijah, I will do whatever I want to do. If I feel like ruining this little party - which, I wasn't invited to, by the way - then I sure as hell will, brother dearest."

He patted me on the shoulder and walked off. I would have to stick to Ava's side in case Klaus followed through on his threat so that I would be able to stop her if she lost control.

"Simone, let me introduce you to my fiancé, Elijah."

Ava had turned as I approached her, introducing a young girl who I took to be one of her cousins.

"A pleasure." Simone said, holding out her hand.

Graciously, I took her hand and kissed it lightly. "Lovely to meet you, Simone." She grinned before engaging in conversation with someone called Pierre.I drew Ava close to me - close enough that no one else would hear what I was about to say…not close enough that it would look inappropriate - and said in an undertone "You need to stay away from Klaus. He's going to try and cause trouble."

Ava sighed heavily and put a hand to her forehead. "Why is he doing this?" She asked me, glancing around the room for him.

"I don't know, just try to stay away from him."

"That's easier said than done."

**Ava's POV:**

With Klaus intent on ruining the dinner, I decided to step out for a minute or so. I'd seen him on the other side of the room, deep in conversation with my father so I knew that I was safe. I'd insisted that Elijah stay with our guests to keep an eye on him.

I slipped into the drawing room which was dark and cool. It was a relief to be away from all our guests and away from the urge to kill.

"Hello, sweetheart."

I jumped. Klaus' voice loomed out of the darkness behind me. I whipped around, taking a step backwards.

"What are you doing?" I asked him warily, trying to edge my way towards the door.

"I thought that I'd bring you a treat."

"A treat?"

He grinned. "Simone?" He called. I blanched. The door open and in came Simone. Her face was blank and she didn't seem to know what was going on."Don't do this." I begged, I knew that I would be unable to stop myself her blood was spilt. I also knew that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt her.

Before Klaus had chance to make a move, I left the room using the new speed that my body allowed. I raced back into the dining room where I almost ran into Elijah.

"What's wrong?" He asked me as soon as he caught sight of my expression. "It's Klaus, I think he wanted me to kill Simone. He must have compelled her and he came into the drawing room but I left before he could do anything but I left her in there with him." I was just about to ask him to go in there himself to save my cousin from the fate Klaus surely had planned for her when the air was rent by a terrible scream. I looked up at Elijah in horror, we were too late.


	18. The Night Before The Wedding

**Ava's POV:**

Simone's scream rang through the room and everyone fell silent. There was a second where no one seemed able to move, we all stood, staring fearfully at each other. Elijah was the first one to move, he rushed out of the room and through to the drawing room. I, along with most of our guests, followed him to find Simone huddled against the wall of the drawing room, covered in what I took to be her own helped her up. "What happened?" He asked her whilst the rest of us looked on in horror.

"I was attacked." She whimpered, raising a hand to feel the bite marks on her neck. The smell of her blood was overpowering. I wanted to reach out and take the blood in my mouth. I only vaguely heard Elijah ask who attacked her, I was too busy forcing myself not to let my instincts take over."It was Ava."

Simone's voice brought me harshly back to reality. I stared at her as were many others. Elijah glanced at me then back at Simone."Excuse me?" He asked her, evidently a little confused.

"Ava attacked me." She repeated."I did no such thing!" I protested, staring at her incredulously. Klaus had evidently attacked her and compelled her to think otherwise. I _despised _him.

"Simone," came my mother's voice. "Ava was in the dining room when you screamed. She couldn't have attacked you!""_Ava attacked me!_" Simone cried urgently.

Simone's mother, my aunt, came hurrying forwards and put her arm around Simone. Simone looked up at her fearfully, her eyes wide with fear. I suddenly felt sorry for her, despite the fact she was accusing me of attacking her, it wasn't her fault. Klaus had compelled her, she didn't have a choice. "My poor darling's tired." Her mother murmured, leading Simone through the bunch of people that had gathered in and outside the room. "She needs her sleep."

We all watched her go. Everyone was wondering what on earth could have attacked and addled her brains at the same time. Elijah and I knew exactly what. I gave him a significant look which he returned.

We waited until everyone had filed from the room to talk. As soon as the door shut, I launched into speech.

"We have to do something about Klaus. The wedding is 4 days from now. What if he decides to pull something on the day?" I hissed, my eyes unintentionally drifting to the blood on the floor.

"Klaus is unstoppable. He lives by no rules but his own." Elijah replied dismissively. I felt a stab of annoyance at his tone. Did he not care that Klaus could ruin my life in this town? Ruin _our _life! How were we supposed to keep up a normal life if Klaus was killing or attacking people around us?

"What if we stop trying to push him away? Maybe if we attempt to include him in our activities, as much as that thought repulses me, he may stop trying to tear down our lives if he sees our willingness to include him?" I suggested. I knew it was a long shot but it was worth a try, was it not?

"I can't allow that." Elijah replied shortly."Why not! If we continue to show him open hostility then he will continue to wreak havoc in this town! This town is my home, Elijah! Did you see what he did to my cousin tonight? He attacked her and compelled her to believe it was me!"

"Ava, he killed you!"

"I'm perfectly aware of that, Elijah. This isn't about me, this is about protecting the people I care about!"

"I will not show my brother kindness and I refuse to discuss it further."

And with that, he left the room, leaving me alone in the darkness. I stood by myself, furious at the injustice.

Two days came and went without any major incident. Simone had all but recovered from the attack, aside from a nasty wound on her neck and her seemingly inexplicable fear of me. Knowing that it was in no way her fault, I let it slide and made sure to keep my distance from her.

Elijah, on the other hand, had not made any effort to make amends after our disagreement. Neither had I. I was furious that he seemed not to care about the safety of my family and friends.

On the eve of our wedding, my parents hosted a party - one of the many that had taken part that week - and I took it upon myself to reach out to Klaus. He had shown up, despite the fact he hadn't been invited - I suspected that Elijah had been compelling my parents to 'forget' to issue him an invitation - but it seemed that Klaus did not require an invitation in order to show up.

I'd been helping myself to a goblet of wine when I heard his voice behind me. Though the mere sound of his voice sent unpleasant chills down my spine, I suppressed a shudder and turned to face him with what I hoped was a gracious smile.

"Klaus. How lovely to see you."

He smiled and took my hand - I resisted the urge to snatch it away - and kissed it. "Always a pleasure, Ava."

"What brings you here, Klaus?"

"It's the eve of my brother's wedding. I came to wish you both luck." We both glanced over at Elijah, who had been watching us from across the room. He looked less than happy to see us conversing. I tore my gaze away from him and looked back at Klaus. "I gather you and my brother are not on good terms at the moment."

"We had a disagreement and haven't yet come to forgive each other." I looked, again, over at Elijah to see him engaged in an animatedly conversation with Adeline. I watched as she laughed and placed her hand on his arm. Jealousy surged up inside me. Yet again she was shamelessly flirting with my fiancé in full view of me and my brother who she seemed to hae conveniently forgotten was her husband.

I made a noise of disgust and turned to face Klaus who had been watching me closely. "Would you care to dance?" He asked me, offering me his hand. I knew that this would only anger Elijah further, he'd made it clear that he didn't approve of me consorting with his brother. I, myself, didn't approve of it either, but I was doing what I had to, to protect those I cared for.

"Of course." I took his hand and allowed him to lead me to where everyone was dancing. He placed his hand on my waist and I placed mine on his shoulder, my other clasped with his.

"So, have you forgiven me?" He asked as we began to sway slightly in time with the music.

"For what?"

"For killing you."

"Not at all, but whilst you're around, if you're going to hurt the people around me, I thought that I'd have a better chance of persuading you not to if I were nice to you." I replied, smiling up at him innocently as though he had merely asked me the time.

"Oh, my darling, I'm just getting started."

I froze, that was what I had been afraid of, I couldn't stay in a town where Klaus was insistent on attacking anyone if he so saw fit, but I couldn't leave either.

"And there's nothing I can do to persuade you otherwise?" I asked him lightly, trying my best to keep my tone casual.

"I will do as I please, sweetheart. One day, you'll understand."

I pulled away from him abruptly having been seized with the urge to get as far away from him as possible.

"I think I'll go and make amends with your brother. Please excuse me."

I couldn't find Elijah anywhere. Thinking that I must have missed him, I doubled back into the room where everyone was socialising. He seemed to have disappeared. I hadn't fed during the day so my heightened senses were slightly dulled, but I knew someone's who weren't. I turned with the intention of finding Klaus, only to find him stood behind me.

"Looking for someone?"

"You haven't seen your brother, have you?"

He shook his head before cocking his head to the side. "But, unless my senses deceive me, I think he's upstairs."

Without another word, I left the room and made my way up the stairs. I was confused as to why he would be upstairs, alone, on the eve of our wedding.

Klaus was right, I could hear him now that I was drawing closer, but it seemed as though he was not alone. I followed the sound of his voice and found myself stood outside my room.

"We shouldn't." I heard him murmur.

"I agree, but that's what makes it so exciting." Came Adeline's voice. What on earth was Adeline doing in my room with my fiancé? There was no way that it could turn out to be anything good.

Not wanting to hear anymore, I pushed open my bedroom door to find a most unpleasant scene:

Adeline was stood in front of the mirror, Elijah was stood close behind her with one hand on her waist whilst he used the other to move her hair from her neck. Both of them had discarded various amounts of their garments. It certainly wasn't an appropriate situation for a married woman and a man who was due to be married.


	19. Goodbye

**Ava's POV:**

Both of them turned when they heard the door open. Their eyes widened with shock when they saw who was stood at the door and they jumped away from each other.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" I asked angrily, still standing in the doorway.

"Oh dear, brother. Looks like you've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble." Came a voice from behind me. I didn't have to turn to know who it was.

"You knew, didn't you?" I said, turning to Klaus. He was wearing a smug smirk.

"I did. I heard every moment of their illicit encounter."

Rage coursed through me. I wanted to rip Adeline's head off. I wanted to rip her heart straight from her chest.

"Funny. Last time I checked you were married to my brother, Adeline." I struggled to keep the anger from my voice. "And _you_," I looked at Elijah, "were supposed to be marrying me."

"Well your attention seemed to be occupied by my brother here," Elijah replied without looking at me.

I gaped at him. "That's what this is about? I talk to your brother so you resort to engaging in what can only be described as adulterous activities with _her_!"

Adeline was watching me from behind Elijah, a very slight smirk playing on her lips.

It seemed that I was the only one who seemed to be remotely bothered about what was happening. Elijah was staring at the floor, apparently unperturbed, Adeline was watching me with a smirk and Klaus seemed positively delighted. Abruptly, I came to my decision.

"You know what, please, continue. Don't stop on my account!" I tore the engagement ring from my finger and let it drop to the floor before turning on my heel.

I'd been wrong to trust Elijah. He was _exactly_ like his brother, he just hid it well. I wasn't staying here, I couldn't, I didn't want to see Elijah, Klaus or Adeline ever again. I was immortal, now. I could run away and start a new life somewhere else. Isn't that what the girl they so desperately wanted to find had done? If she could run from them then so could I.

I hurried down the stairs back to the party. I had to do it now. I ran into my mother in the hallway. I made to walk straight past her but she caught hold of me.

"Ava, dear, what's wrong?" She asked me, looking worried. I realised then that tears were streaking down my face. Hastily, I brushed them away, plastering a smile to my face. "Tears of happiness, mother."

She didn't look convinced, but she let it go. She patted my cheek gently before returning to the party. I made sure that the door was closed before running through to the kitchens. They were empty. All of the cooks and servants would be in the dining room, serving the food. Taking advantage of the empty kitchen, I slipped out of the backdoor and into the night. The cold air hit me and my head reeled. I was weakening, I needed to feed but I couldn't do that here.

I stole into the stables at the back of our house and made my way over to my father's horse, Adora. She was his most prized possession, but she was also the fastest horse we owned.

I ran my hand across her silky coat. She stamped her feet nervously. She could sense that I wasn't human.

Sighing, I mounted her. I wrapped the reigns around my hands and kicked her flanks, forcing her to move. I guided her out of the stables and into the meadow. I glanced up at the house, the party was still in full swing. No one would realise I was missing for a few hours yet, and by then I'd be long gone.

"Goodbye," I whispered, watching my mother through the window as she chatted happily to my father. I knew what I was doing was selfish, but I just _had_ to get away. I wanted to start over as someone new.

Without another backwards glance, I kicked Adora into gear and we galloped away from the house, leaving behind my entire life. I rode her for days. The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. I made the necessary stops when we both needed rest and sustenance, but I didn't stop properly until Adora and I were far enough not to be found.


	20. A New Purpose

**America, Present Day**

**Ava's POV:**

I woke up today, as I do everyday. I drank blood today, as I do every single day. I seduced a guy today and then ripped his throat out, as I do most days.

Long ago, I'd hoped that being immortal would bring me a world of wonders, but a world of wonders was nothing when you had no one to share it with.

I tended to live my incredibly long life alone, because when you put your trust in people, it led to nothing but heartbreak. I'd had the misfortune of learning that the hard way.

This day was turning out to be exactly the same as any other, until I got an interesting phone call.

My caller ID showed that it was Damon Salvatore ringing. I'd met Damon some 50 years ago. We'd both been drowning our sorrows in a bar in New York. One thing led to another and he turned out to be a surprisingly good lover. The only time either of us got in contact with the other was when we needed mindless, meaningless sex to take our minds off whatever was bothering us.

"Damon! What can I do for you?" I answered, pressing the phone to my ear.

"Ava, I need to talk to you."

"Ok, shoot."

He paused. "I'd rather we did it in person."

I looked at the clock, not that the time mattered, I had all the time in the world. "Fine. Where are you?"

"Mystic Falls."

I hung up the phone, drained the glass of blood in front of me, grabbed my car keys and left my apartment. Mystic Falls wasn't far, if I needed anything I could be back within the hour.

I arrived in Mystic Falls a short while later. I hadn't visited in a few years but not much had changed. I assumed that Damon would be at the family boarding house, still trying to find a way to get his beloved Katherine back - he'd fallen in love with a vampire by the name of Katherine, as had his brother. Things hadn't gone so well and to cut a long story short, she'd ended up locked inside a tomb and Damon had spent the entity of his immortal life trying to find a way to break her out.

I pulled up into the driveway and stepped out of the car. I'd visited the boarding house before, but it never failed to impress me. Smirking to myself, I locked my car and pocketed the keys.

I reached the door within seconds. I didn't bother to knock, I'd already been invited in long ago.

"Damon?" I called as I stepped inside.

"In here," his voice came from the main living area.

I found him sprawled on the sofa, but he wasn't alone. The backs of two people were visible from where I was standing; a boy who I took to be his brother, Stefan, and a girl I didn't think I knew.

"For what reason have you dragged me here today, Damon?" I asked, seating myself in one of the free chairs. I glanced at the two people on the sofa - the boy was, as I predicted, Stefan, but the girl I didn't know, though I felt a spark of familiarity when I looked at her, I wasn't sure why, though.

"We have a problem and we need your help." Damon said, sitting up.

"What kind of problem?"

"An Original kind of problem,"

I froze. Did he mean what I thought he meant? Damon knew my history. One night we'd had a heart-to-heart and I'd told him everything and he, in turn, had told _me_ everything.

"Excuse me?"

"Your ex-boyfriend's in town. I thought I'd killed him but apparently the normal stake-to-the-heart won't do. Given your history with the guy, I figured I'd give you a call, find out what you know."

I stood up abruptly. If _he _was in town then I couldn't risk seeing him. I'd been running from him for over 500 years, I couldn't let that all go to waste now.

"I can't help you." I said shortly, making to leave.

"Yes, you can." Damon grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. I could have easily pulled my arm away but I seemed to have all but lost the use of my limbs.

"You were engaged to him. You know how his mind works."

"You were engaged to Elijah?" The girl asked. I turned to face her, she was watching me warily and she seemed genuinely surprised by the fact that I had once been involved with him.

"A long time ago." I replied shortly. I turned back to Damon. "I wish I could help you, but I can't be involved in anything that might bring me into contact with him. I've spent centuries running from him. He'll kill me if he finds me now."

"What do you know about Klaus?" Stefan cut in. He was leaning forward in his chair, watching me closely.

I felt a thrill of fear at the sound of Klaus' name. Over the centuries, I'd found out a lot about Klaus and his brother. It turned out that they'd kept quite a bit from me, and as it transpired I hadn't been nearly afraid of Klaus as I had ought to have been. Klaus and his brother were Originals. The first family of vampires. They'd never thought to disclose this information to me, so for years I had had no idea that I'd been consorting with the oldest, most powerful vampires in the history of time.

"I knew Klaus for a short period of time. I thought he was terrifying, but from what I've found out since, he was on his best behaviour for the time I knew him. I know that if you do anything that might upset him, he'll get his revenge. He'll kill you without thinking twice if you cross his path. I wouldn't want to end up on his list of those he wants dead."

For some reason, the girl looked terrified. Damon saw the look of confusion flash across my face as I watched her and hastened to explain.

"I'm assuming you've heard of the sun and moon curse?"

"Everyone knows about the curse. Why?"

"Klaus wants to break it and Elena is the key to breaking it."

I glanced at the girl - Elena - and something in my memory clicked. I gasped. "You're the doppelganger." I suddenly remembered the girl that had come to me on a dark night hundreds of years ago. I remembered it clear as day, now. She was the mirror image of the girl sitting in front of me.

"Please, we need you. You're the only person I know, apart from Katherine, that has some connection to the Originals, and she won't talk unless there's something in it for her. We need your help." I assumed that he had found a way to break his beloved from the tomb. I stood, weighing out my options in my head. If I stayed, I'd be putting myself at risk. He would come for the girl, if he found me I was sure he'd kill me. But it'd be the first time in years that I had some sort of purpose in life. I didn't want to go back to my own mundane life.

"Fine. I'll stay. Just so you know, there's a good chance that none of us will come out of this alive."


	21. The Beginning, Again

**Ava's POV:**

Damon filled me in on what was happening. Apparently, two vampires called Trevor and Rose - I remembered their names from the first doppelganger's story - had kidnapped Elena with the intent of handing her over to the Originals in exchange for their freedom. Elijah had arrived, killed Trevor, granted Rose her freedom and then Damon and Stefan had arrived. Damon told me that he'd staked Elijah - "You honestly thought that a simple stake to the heart would kill an Original, Damon?" - and everyone had returned home with the intent of living happily ever after, except for the fact that they now had to deal with the fact that Elena had to die to break the curse, but since they'd killed Elijah, they figured word wouldn't get out. Only Elijah had come back to life and must have been damn angry. Elena tried to give herself over to him in order to save her friends and family after Katherine - who turned out to be Katerina, the girl Elijah and Klaus had been searching for - had told her, her story. And so, that's where I came into the equation. Damon knew of my history with both of the brothers and thought I could be of some help.

"How _do _you kill an Original?" He asked me as we sat in his living room, both of us drinking from glasses filled with blood.

"I don't know, Damon. I've told you, I didn't even _know_ that they were Originals before I ran away. Most of what I know about them I've learnt since."

"Well what do you know?" He asked me, raising his eyebrows at me.

I sighed, I hated talking about them with anyone. It reminded me of everything I'd lost. "I know that whilst Klaus is open about his motives, his brother is more reserved, but don't be fooled. He is just as bad as Klaus he just knows how to hide it. I also know that if you try and stand in Klaus' way, he'll punish you. He killed me when he felt that I was making his brother weak. He also attacked my cousin and compelled her to believe it was me because," I paused, why _had _Klaus done that? "I'm not exactly sure why he did it, actually. I guess he was bored or something."

"We need to find a way to kill Elijah. Him and Elena have made a deal, but I don't trust him. I mean, you were engaged to him, look where that got you."

I didn't answer, he was right. He'd taken everything from me. My life in every sense of the word. I bet he'd played the grieving fiancé perfectly after I'd gone missing. I bet no one had suspected that the reason I'd run away was because I'd caught him cheating on me with my sister-in-law.

"Do you still love him?"

I looked up, Damon was watching me. Some of the hurt must have spilled over and onto my face. I shook my head.

"It's been over 500 years, Damon. Of course not."

Abruptly, Damon stood up and pulled me up. "Come on, we're going to the grill."

"The where?"

"The grill. It's the most happening joint in town."

The grill, more commonly known as The Mystic Grill - people were so imaginative these days - was where most of the town seemed to hang out. I followed Damon inside and straight up to the bar. It was obvious he spent quite a bit of time here. He slid onto a barstool next to a man I didn't recognise. I took the stool on his other side.

"Who's your friend?" The man asked, turning. He glanced at me before fixing his eyes on Damon.

"Alaric Saltzman I'd like you to meet Ava-" He turned to me, "what name are you using these days?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed Damon out of the way. I extended my arm and offered my hand to the man named Alaric. "Ava Williams." I'd dropped the surname La Torre after I'd ran away. It wasn't a common name and was too distinguishable, so I'd adopted an English surname instead.

Alaric took my hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

I turned to the bartender and ordered myself a drink whilst Damon muttered "Ava has a history with Elijah. I figured we could use her as leverage."

I stared at Damon's back, he'd lured me here to use me as _leverage_?

"I hope, for your own sake, that was a joke, Damon." I snapped, snatching the drink from the bartender before he'd had time to set it down.

"Of course."

I took a swig from the liquid in my glass and winced slightly as it seared down my throat.

"So," I leaned forward so that I would be included in the conversation. "Do you actually have any kind of plan on how to safe Elena?" I asked.

"No. She insistent that we comply with this deal she's made with him." Damon replied grudgingly.

"But we don't think Elijah can be trusted." Alaric cut in. He obviously didn't think that I was up to speed on what was going on.

"Yeah, I got that."

"We just need to find some sort of weapon or a spell that can kill an Original. There must be something!" Damon exclaimed, setting down his empty glass. "Rick, you go find Bonnie, see if there's anything in Emily's grimoire whilst me and Ava-"

"Damon." Alaric suddenly said warningly. He was looking over his shoulder at the entrance to the grill. Both me and Damon followed his gaze. It was Elijah. He looked different to how I remembered him, but there was no mistaking. My reaction was different to Damon's: Damon sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, muttering "brilliant". I, on the other hand, blanched. A block of ice seemed to drop into my stomach and overwhelm my body. I had to get out of there.

Turning so I had my back to him, I got up off my stool. "I can't be here." I muttered to Damon, who looked at me with confusion. I don't think he had realised how scared of this man I was. I drained my glass of what little liquid it had left. I was about to get up when a familiar voice behind me caused me to freeze. His accent was different, but it was unmistakably him.

"Gentleman." Both Damon and Alaric turned to face him, both of them wearing resigned expressions. Damon gave him a bitter smile. "And who is your friend?"

I guessed he was referring to me. Slowly, I turned to face him. I supposed it was too much to hope that he wouldn't recognise me.

His expression went from utterly carefree to shocked in a mere second. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance. I supposed I looked I lot different now than when he'd last laid eyes on me.

"Ava?"

I stared at him for a long moment, unable to bring myself to reply. Finally, I tore my gaze away from his.

"You know what? I have to go. I'll call you, Damon." I gabbled without looking at any of them, pushing past Elijah and making my way rapidly through the grill. Once outside, I leant against the wall, breathing heavily. It was more than unnerving seeing him again after 500 years.

"Ava."

I jumped, Elijah was stood right beside me. Terrified that he was going to rip out my heart there and then, I pushed myself off the wall and began to walk away. This was no use, he followed me.

"Ava, please."

I stopped. It was strange, it sounded like he was pleading with me. I hadn't expected that. I'd expected anger, to say the least, for deserting him the night before our wedding.

I turned to face him. He was watching me with an expression that looked like it could have been hurt.

"I have nothing to say to you." I said shortly, feeling all the old emotions rising.

"I have plenty."

"I don't care." I replied angrily, striding away. It had been easy to forget how it felt when I'd seen him and Adeline together in my room, but now that he was here, it all came rushing back.

He caught me by the arm and pulled me around to face him. He was stronger than I was, so I had little choice.

"Was I not clear enough when I ran away? That was my way of saying 'I never want to see you again'." I snapped trying, to no avail, to pull my arm out of his grip.

"Allow me to explain myself."

"There's nothing to explain! Let. Me. Go."

"I can always make you listen to me."

I stopped trying to pull my arm from his grip. Original's could compel other vampires. He could make me do whatever he wanted.

"Fine." It wasn't like I had much choice. Either I agreed or he made me.


	22. Bringing Up the Past

**Ava's POV:**

Elijah took me to a an apartment across town. There were two people already in there. A man and a younger boy. After having them invite me in, Elijah held the door open and said, "Would you give us some time alone, please?" Both of them looked at me curiously before leaving the apartment.

"Who are they?"

"Luka and Jonas Martin. They're part of the reason I'm in town."

"And why is that?"

"All will be revealed in time."

I sighed, I wanted more than anything to run from the apartment, but I knew that he'd catch me without even trying.

"Please, have a seat." He was being oddly formal, I didn't like it, but I didn't question it. I sat down opposite the one he had seated himself in and stared over at the window. I could feel his gaze on me.

"You wanted to explain. Get on with it." I snapped, still not looking at him.

"You look different." He observed. I turned to stare at him.

"What, did you expect me to still be wearing corsets and hoop skirts?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You sound different, too." He said, disregarding my comment about corsets and hoop skirts. "Your accent has changed."

"As has yours."

He looked different, too. His hair was shorter, his clothes different, he looked a lot more powerful.

"You kept the necklace I had made for you." It wasn't a question but I could hear the surprise in his voice. I touched the necklace lightly. He'd given it to me the day after I'd turned. He hadn't explained what it did but had asked me to never take it off. I'd discovered its powers when I'd attempted to take it off in broad daylight. As soon as I'd undone the clasp and made to take it off, a searing pain had engulfed me.

"Well it was either that or let the sun kill me."

I crossed one leg over the other in agitation. I wasn't comfortable here, or anywhere where I was in Elijah's presence.

"I'm sorry."

I met his gaze. He was watching me with an expression that would have broken my heart some 5 centuries ago. It was hurt, guilt and self-loathing all in one.

"You're _sorry_? Oh, well I guess that's ok then. I guess we're cool!" I replied sarcastically. Did he honestly think that that was going to cut it?

"That night…I was weak, I hadn't fed and I saw you with Klaus, I was incredibly jealous and Adeline-" my eyes narrowed with resentment at the mention of her name, "was there. She could see what was going on and she used it against me. She drew me in. I hated myself for it but-"

"But what? Her charm was too powerful? You couldn't help it? Klaus tried that with me at least twice yet somehow I was able to resist." I snapped. I had been only a few days into my new life when Klaus had tried it on for the first time, yet despite the fact I'd been starving, agitated and down right scared, I hadn't succumbed.

"I know, I'm-"

"Sorry? Of course you are. You know what I thought to myself when I realised that I was going to live forever?"

He shook his head.

"I was terrified. I didn't want to live forever. I wanted a normal life, I wanted the life I'd been living before you'd appeared, but there was a voice at the back of my mind that was reassuring me that everything would turn out just fine. I thought that if I was going to live forever, at least I'd get to spend forever with you."

I fell silent, willing the tears that were threatening to pour down my face to disappear. I'd never talked about it like this, I'd never got any of these emotions off my chest. They'd always been there in the back of my mind, but I'd never touched upon them, not even with Damon.

Elijah was silent, he was staring at the floor, so I took this as a chance to keep talking.

"And then I find you cosied up to Adeline - in my bedroom, I might add - the day before our wedding! _I'm _sorry. Sorry that I ever gave you any reason to doubt me. Sorry that I ever trusted you."

I stood up, having no desire to continue the conversation. "Nice catching up." I snarled, heading for the door. I'd taken no more than a step when Elijah was stood in front of me.

"You can't leave." He said, grabbing my shoulders.

I struggled to remove myself from his clasp, though it was no use."What do you mean I can't leave?"

"I've spent 500 years looking for you. I can't let you go again."

I stared at him, I wouldn't have cared if he'd have spent 1000 years looking for me. He'd condemned me to this life with the promise of guiding me through it, the promise of being together always, and then betrayed me. It had been over 500 years and I still hadn't forgiven him.

I feigned a smile and relaxed. I reached up and pressed my hand to his cheek. He pressed his forehead against mine and wound his arm around my waist.

"Sweetheart," I murmured, leaning in as though to kiss him. "I _despise_ you." I let my hand drop to my side and pulled away from him harshly.

His expression, which had been happy just a moment earlier slackened with shock. With one last look of contempt, I slammed out of the apartment. Elijah didn't come after me and for that I was glad.

I had to hold back my tears as I took out my phone. I wasn't upset, as such, I was angry. I didn't like to discuss that part of my past, especially not with him. I sent Damon a message asking where he was. I hadn't been sure whether or not I wanted to be involved with their plan to attempt to kill Elijah, but after this afternoon, my allegiance had been decided. I would do what I could to help them find a method to end the life of the man who had ruined mine.


	23. Forgive Me?

**Ava's POV:**

I arrived back at the boarding house in bad spirits. I was angry and hurt and even more angry. I slammed through the door, not bothering to display any niceties in my rage. Damon, having heard my noisy arrival, came to see who had so rudely barged into his house. When he saw it was me, he came forward, obviously concerned.

"Where did you disappear off to before?"

I ignored this question. "I'm in. I'm going to help you protect Elena from that _bastard_ and I'm going to help you find a way to kill him."

Damon stared at me. "Are you ok?"

"I'm _fine_." I snapped, walking right past him.

"Ava," he said, following me through to the living room where I grabbed the first alcoholic drink I came across and poured myself a glass. "What happened?"

I downed my glass in one and turned to pour myself another before answering.

"My ex-fiancé's excuse for cheating on me was _lame_. I lost _everything_ because of him! If he'd just been able to control himself then none of this would have happened!" I pushed a hand through my hair in agitation. "I hate him, Damon." My breathing was coming in short, sharp bursts now. I was at the end of my tether. "_I hate him!"_ I shouted, throwing my glass at the wall where it shattered into a thousand shards.

Damon set down his own glass and stood in front of me. He took a hold of my shoulders and stared at me for a long moment. I could see pity in his expression. I was about to walk away, I didn't want his pity, when he pulled me into a hug. It took a few moments, but his affection calmed me down. I could relate to Damon, he'd been through his own ordeal with Katherine, he knew the betrayal I was feeling.

"Don't worry honey. I'll let you have the honour of killing him."

I almost laughed. He said it in such a matter-of-fact tone of voice. I pulled away from him with a sigh, it was getting late and I needed to be heading home.

"I should go," I said, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Keep me filled in." I told him, indicating my phone. He nodded and turned away, making to pour himself another drink.

"Oh, you should probably start drinking vervain."

"Why on earth would I do that?"

"To stop Elijah from being able to compel you. Just a little bit every day. Probably make a big difference in the long run."

I shook my head at him, I'd had vervain in my system before, it felt like my insides were being burnt and blistered by fire. It wasn't something I considered a desirable experience and I had no desire to repeat it.

"You should be careful. If Elijah's been searching for you ever since you ran away, now that he knows where you are…well, I don't think he's going to give up."

His concern was touching. In all the time I'd known Damon he'd tried his best to maintain his 'bad boy' image by claiming he'd switched off his humanity. It was moments like these that proved otherwise.

"Goodnight, Damon."

I was glad to go home. It had been an emotional day and I was tired. I wanted blood and I wanted to sleep. Normally, I would have ventured out and found someone whose blood I could have fed off - I preferred it fresh - but I couldn't be bothered tonight, a blood bag would have to do.

As soon as I got inside, I dumped my keys on the sideboard and walked straight through to the kitchen. I opened my refrigerator and grabbed one of the many blood bags that were inside. I reached into one of the cupboards for a glass when I felt that I was being watched. It made the hairs on the back of neck stand up. I set the blood bag down and turned around to find Elijah sat on the sofa, watching me. He was just sat, completely care free, watching me as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

"What are you doing here!" I demanded, slamming the cupboard shut and coming forward. "How do you know where I live!"

He shrugged. "It wasn't hard to follow you after you left the boarding house."

"What, are you stalking me now?"

"If that's what you want to call it." He got up and walked over to where I was stood. I backed away as far as I could until I hit the kitchen counter. Elijah cocked his head to the side when he saw this with a look of confusion.

"You're scared of me?"

"I'd be an idiot if I wasn't." I scoffed, pressing myself flat against the counter as he came closer.

"You never used to be." He stated, the smallest trace of a smirk coming to his lips.

"I wasn't fully aware of everything back then, though, as you well know. Most of what I actually know about you I found out afterwards." I snapped, wondering to myself if I'd be fast enough to get around him.

"I wouldn't have hurt you."

"Why are you here?"

I pretended to wait for an answer, hoping that when I moved I'd be catching him off guard. He started to talk, but I wasn't listening. I stared at him, hoping that it looked like I was paying attention before I bolted. I used the speed of the supernatural I'd been blessed with upon becoming a vampire, but no such luck. He caught me before I got far and forced me back to where I'd been stood before.

He looked me in the eye, subjugating me to his will. "You're not going to do that again."

I felt his compulsion run through my body, erasing the ability to escape. I tore my gaze away, cursing myself inwardly for not taking Damon's advice.

"Why don't you just kill me and be done with it?" I asked, my voice shaking. I pushed past him but this time he didn't stop me, because he knew that I wasn't going to try and escape. I couldn't.

"Kill you? Why would I want to kill you?"

"That isn't why you've been searching for me?" I picked up the blood bag from the side and turned to face him. I'd assumed that he'd been looking for me so that he could drive a stake through my heart for daring to run away. Judging by the look on his face, this wasn't the case.

"No, of course not."

I stared at him, scrutinising him. He was a good liar, I knew that, but why lie about this? It wasn't like I could do anything to stop him if that had been his intention, he had the power to make me do whatever the hell he wanted.

"Then what do you want? Why are you here?"

I wanted him to go, I hated being around him, it reminded me of the past, it reminded me of my family and most of all, it reminded me of Adeline.

"I want your forgiveness."

"You can go to hell." I turned my back on him and poured the blood from the bag into a glass.

"I'm not leaving without it."

"Then compel me! Make me forgive you, because that's the only way you'll be getting it!" I snarled without turning around.

"Because that wouldn't be your forgiveness! I need you to want to forgive me."

I took a sip from my glass, closing my eyes as the blood slipped down my throat. It was calming.

"But I don't want to forgive you," I said, turning around, "and I never will."


	24. A Different Ava

**Elijah's POV:**

For over 500 years I searched for the girl that had run from me the night before our wedding. I needed to explain to her that it meant nothing, it was but a momentary lapse of control. I needed to tell her that I loved her.

Ava was long gone by the time any of us realised that she was missing and she'd hidden well. I heard neither hide nor hair of her for centuries. The rare times I thought I was closing in on her, she'd slip right out of my grasp once again. It was infuriating.

2010 brought me to a town named Mystic Falls. Contrary to popular belief, Katerina's bloodline had not ended with her. All hope was not lost, the doppelganger existed, the curse could be broken and Klaus could be killed.

Of course, getting hold of the doppelganger didn't come without complications. The Salvatore Brothers, both of whom are in love with the doppelganger, Elena, were going to try and stop me from carrying out my plan. They'd already attempted to kill me once. What they don't realise is that Elena's death will also bring the death of Klaus, which will make the world a largely safer place.

I'd expected them to rebel against me. What I didn't expect was for them to be in contact with the one person I'd been unable to find despite my tireless searches.

Imagine my surprise when I run into Damon and Alaric in the grill accompanied by a woman I did not seem to recognise, until she turned around.

It was Ava, though it was not the Ava I knew. Her hair was different; back in the 16th century it had hung past her waist, often done up intricately. It was shorter now, though it was still long, and it hung in loose curls to her waist. Her clothes were different, of course. I was used to seeing her in custom made dresses yet here she was in jeans, heels and a leather jacket. It wasn't just her appearance that was different, either, her whole demeanour had changed. In the 16th century Ava had been so innocent, so kind natured, but 500 years of immortality had changed that. She was tougher, stronger and colder. She seemed to be as shocked to see me as I was here, but not nearly as pleased.

I managed to convince her to come back to the Martin's apartment in the hope that she would at least hear me out. I had hoped that 500 years had been enough to lessen her anger. Apparently this was not the case. She looked at me with such contempt it hurt. The way she spoke to me, it was cold and angry. She could not have made it clearer that she hated me. It all but broke my heart, but I wasn't about to give up now.

**Ava's POV:**

Since I'd been compelled not to try and escape, I was forced to sit and listen to Elijah try and explain why'd he'd seen fit to cheat on me. I tried to block his voice out, I didn't want to hear it. I'd gone 500 years without knowing and that had suited me just fine.

I must have fallen asleep after a while - a foolish move on my part, he could have killed me very easily - because I woke up disorientated and confused. Elijah must have carried me to my bed for I was lay on top of the covers. I sat up and pushed my hair out of my face. He'd drawn the curtains for me. Sweet. That didn't change anything though. I still hated him.

I jumped when my phone, which was on the bedside table, started vibrating loudly. I picked it up and answered without bothering to see who was calling.

"Hello?" I answered groggily.

"What do you know about werewolves?" Came Damon's voice. I groaned, how did one town attract so much trouble!"Not a lot. Why?""We have a werewolf problem. Get your ass down here and lend us a hand."

"You're ordering me around now?"

"Only if you _want _to be ordered." I could hear the smirk in his voice, even if I couldn't see him.

"Shut up. I'll be down in a bit." I hung up and pulled myself out of bed. Mystic Falls was like a magnet for trouble. Vampires, werewolves, witches. What next, ghosts?


	25. Problem Solved

**Ava's POV:**

The days following Damon's werewolf problem passed without what could be classed as a major incident. Unless you counted a werewolf named Jules and her mate kidnapping and torturing Caroline, the youngest vampire in town, and then summoning the rest of their pack in order to try and eradicate the vampires. Surprisingly Stefan and Damon managed to fight most of them off until Jonas Martin came to save the day, but in a town like Mystic Falls, having to fight a pack of werewolves equated was just a relatively normal day.

I wasn't present for any of the goings on though, unfortunately. I'd abandoned my apartment and started staying at the boarding house, it was easier that way if they needed help and, lets face it, they needed all the help they could get. I noticed that Damon was becoming so fixated on keeping Elena alive that he was unwilling to listen to anything or anyone that might suggest otherwise. The deal that Elena had made with Elijah turned out to protect everyone - Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Alaric, Jeremy and Elena's aunt Jenna - except Elena.

I hadn't been staying in the boarding house long, but since Elena was there a lot of the time I'd been able to get to know her. She was strong. She was willing to sacrifice herself in order to save those she loved. I could see exactly where she was coming from, I'd have done the same if the lives of my family and friends had been at risk, but I still wanted to find a way to kill Elijah and, when the time came, Klaus.

Damon had fallen for her. It was easy to see and predictable in my opinion. Both brothers had fallen for Katherine, it was inevitable that both of them would fall for Elena, too.

Since I was staying at the boarding house, we - Stefan, Damon and I - had decided that if people were to ask, to tell them that I'm their sister. It was easier and would prevent people from asking me where I was from, why was I here, where were my parents, etc. It was difficult coming up with a story on the spot and since a lot of the people in Mystic Falls were on vervain, compulsion was out of the question.

Since that first day, I hadn't seen nor heard from Elijah. I was glad, I didn't _want _to see him. I hated him. I was working with the Salvatore's in order to find a way to kill him, didn't that prove that I hated him?

A voice at the very back of my mind suggested that maybe I hated him so much because I still had feelings for him. I quashed this suggestion immediately. I hated him and would be happy when he was dead.

Speaking of finding a way to kill him, there had been a little progress on that subject. John Gilbert - Elena's uncle and biological father, apparently - had given Damon a dagger and a pot of the ashes of a white oak ash tree, claiming that the dagger had to be dipped into the ash and then plunged through the heart of the Original.

"What do you think?" Damon asked me after explaining this to me.

I shook my head. "I've no idea. I never discussed means of killing them with them. I assumed that they could be killed the same way as we could." I replied with s shrug. There had been a lot I'd never discussed with Elijah and Klaus. I regretted that. There was so much I could have found out, so many opportunities that I'd never taken.

"This John Gilbert, you say he hates vampires?"

Damon nodded. "He tried his best to have me burned along with the tomb vampires a couple of months ago."

"In that case, I'd take any advice he gives you with caution. If he hates vampires then he'll hate you and Stefan having anything to do with Elena and I'm guessing will take any opportunity to change that."

Damon placed the dagger back in its wrappings before turning to me. "I know. I've got Bonnie looking through her ancestors grimoire looking for something that might be of some use."

I sighed. This was not how I'd envisioned my life turning out. When I'd turned I'd been so certain that it had meant I'd get to spend forever with Elijah. I cringed whenever I thought about how utterly naïve I'd been back then. Damon looked at me when I sighed. "You ok?"

"Fine. I just…you know, I loved him once. So much. I never dreamed that one day I'd be working against him, searching for ways to kill him." I plastered a smile to my face, I didn't want Damon to think I was having second thoughts. "And yet here we are."

He handed me a glass of some amber liquid and took a swig from his own. "Times change."

_Yes, they do, _I thought to myself. I tipped a small amount of the liquid down my neck before I set down the glass. "What are you doing today?"

"The historical society are having some tea party, it's all very Alice in Wonderland _but _guess who's the guest of honour?"

"Who?"

"Elijah. He's posing as a author or something of that sort. I figured I'd pop along and find out what he's really doing here. You wanna come?"

I laughed, a historical society hosted tea party sounded, in the nicest possible way, the dullest event I'd ever had the misfortune of hearing about."No thanks. I'll pass."

"Suit yourself."

He shrugged on his jacket, set his glass down and headed for the door.

"Have fun!" I called after him, settling myself into a chair to prepare for a long day of doing nothing. Stefan and Elena were having a romantic weekend away, Damon would be out at the tea party so I was left with the house to myself.

Damon had mentioned that Katherine was trapped in the tomb under the old church ruins. Maybe I could pay her a visit see if she knew anything on how to kill an Original. She had about as much experience with them as I did.

It didn't take me long to get to the old church ruins, I guessed the tomb was down the flight of steps that lead underground. Tentatively, I made my way down to find the tomb, It was open so I guessed there was a spell that was holding her inside.

She must have heard my approach because she came staggering forwards, she obviously hadn't fed for a while.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice was dry and cracked like she hadn't used it for a while."You don't remember me?" I asked, taking in her appearance. Her hair was straight, like Elena's. When she'd come to me that night, it had been curly.

"No."

"1502. Lagrasse, France. You came knocking on my door late one night. You told me everything but then you compelled me to forget."

Her eyes widened, I assumed she was remembering that night just as clearly as I was."You told me about the Originals and how they would be looking for you. They did come looking for you, you were right to compel me to forget. Unfortunately for you though, I was turned and I remembered. Since you're still alive I'm guessing they still haven't found you?"

She narrowed her eyes, obviously wondering what my point was. I was wondering that myself. I didn't really have a point, I was just bored and had nothing to do."He had feelings for you, you know?" I blurted out, unable to hold in the thought that had been haunting me for over five centuries. I'd never touched upon it, never wanted to acknowledge it, but it had been there. I'd seen it in his eyes, the moment I'd mentioned her name, the moment I told them she'd been here. He'd had feelings for her, I didn't know how deep they'd been but they were most definitely there.

"Who?" She replied, leaning against the stone walls.

"…Elijah." It was the first time I'd said his name out loud in over 500 years.

She rolled her eyes. "I know. I had hoped that he'd have seen fit to try and save me from the fate Klaus had planned for me, but apparently his feelings didn't run that deep."

I spent the afternoon trying to decipher any knowledge that Katherine may have had on the Originals, but she didn't give away anything that I didn't already know. It was with down heartened spirits that I headed back to the boarding house. Time was ticking and we still weren't any closer to discovering whether the dagger would work.

I walking up the driveway of the boarding house when I ran into the last person I wanted to see. Elijah was sauntering down the drive, his hands covered in blood. He stopped when he saw me. I stared at his hands, why were they covered in blood? What had he done?

"What's going on?" I asked, keeping a safe distance between us.

"I just solved your werewolf problem. You can thank me later."

"I-…y-you…you did what?" I stammered, avoiding his gaze.

"I killed them." He said bluntly. Had I been human, that news would have shocked me. Horrified me, even disgusted me. But times were different.

"Oh." Was all I could reply with.

He gazed at me, his expression was unreadable. He pressed his hand to my cheek for a moment before pulling it away, leaving a bloody smear on my cheekbone, and walked away. I turned to call him back, but he was gone.


	26. An Unpleasant Surprise

**Ava's POV:**

I hurried inside to find Damon and Alaric both looking a little worse for wear and 4 dead werewolves.

"I see you guys had a productive day." I said, my eyes drawn to the blood on the carpet.

"Luckily for us, your boyfriend was around to save the day." Damon replied, obviously disgruntled at the fact that Elijah had been needed to step in and save him from the wolves.

I glared at him, he knew full well how I felt about being associated with Elijah.  
>"Well, unless you guys need any help, I need to head on back to my apartment. I haven't been home all week, the neighbours will be starting to talk."<p>

"I'll come with you." Damon said.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I'm bored."

I stared at him. He'd just been involved in some werewolf massacre and he was bored?

"Fine. But wash your neck first. You're covered in blood."

He rolled his eyes but didn't disagree. I waited whilst he disappeared to clean himself up.

"I'm gonna take off." I glanced round at Alaric, he was also covered in blood.

"Good idea. You should probably change your shirt, too." I said, indicating the blood. He glanced down and grimaced. "Thanks."

He left me sitting amidst the bodies of the wolves. From the looks of it their hearts had been torn out…that explained the blood on Elijah's hands.

As soon as Damon was good to go, we set off. It was late so hopefully we wouldn't run in to any of my nosey neighbours.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Damon asked as I unlocked the door to my apartment.

"Keeping up appearances." I replied, pushing open the door and standing aside for him.

"Nice place."

I closed the door behind us and headed straight for the kitchen. I was starving.

"You hungry?" I asked, taking a couple of blood bags from the fridge and throwing him one. He caught it deftly and began to drink from it. I followed suite. There was nothing quite as potent as blood, even when it wasn't straight from the neck of a human. I was about to grab another one when there was a knock on the door.

"Could you get that?" I called, getting myself a glass for this round. Damon walked over to the door and pulled it open. I didn't hear any sound of greeting other than Damon calling out my name.

"What is it?" I asked, coming out of the kitchen so I could see what was wrong. I was stopped short when I saw Elijah walking in as though he owned the place.

"What are you doing here!" I demanded, placing a hand on my hips. I was getting sick of Elijah popping up uninvited, it was throwing me off guard.

"Calm down, sweetheart." I bristled with anger. What did he _want_? "I have a surprise for you."

I laughed. Damon, who had left the door open and had hastened to stand by side me was looking between the two of us. "What kind of surprise is that then?" I answered, folding my arms with a sceptical expression. Was this going to be some proclamation of love in an attempt to earn my forgiveness?

"Darling?" He called to someone I couldn't see. A smirk that I didn't like was playing on his lips. I knew then that this wasn't going to be anything good. Through the door came the one person I hated more than Elijah, the one person I least expected to see…

"Adeline!"

She looked different - we all did - she looked a little older than I remembered her. Her hair was longer and darker and her whole sly and vindictive demeanour seemed to have increased. I stared at her, unable to wrap my head around it.

"Hello, Ava. Long time."

I stared at her and then at Elijah who was staring at Adeline fondly. I felt sick to my stomach, were they _together_?

"You turned her!" I exclaimed angrily, frozen to the spot.

"Of course he did. After you left it was only too easy for us to keep seeing each other and Elijah decided he didn't want to be without me."

"You kept seeing each other after I left!" I tore my gaze from Adeline's and rested on Elijah's. "You said you hated yourself for what you did! You said you spent all this time looking for me! If you felt that bad why on earth did you keep on seeing her! And you!" I turned back to Adeline. "What about my _brother_! You were married to him!"

"Mhmm, well when you did your little disappearing act, Louis was heartbroken. He became withdrawn and cold, he turned to the alcohol. I was lonely." She said in an innocent voice, except it was Adeline, and nothing was innocent with her.

"And I did feel bad about what happened," Elijah put in. "That didn't mean I didn't like it though."

I gaped at the pair of them, unable to frame a coherent sentence. How could they? No, how could _he? _I'd expect no less from Adeline but Elijah! He wasn't half the man I thought he was.

"Wow," Muttered Damon who, up until this point, had been stood silently by my side. "Awkward."

I ignored him."So what, you just kept up your illicit affair until one day you just upped and left my brother? You just left him all alone. His sister missing and now his wife?"

The smirk on Adeline's lips widened into a grin.

"No, I killed him."

I gasped. It was as if she'd shoved a knife right through my heart. My brother, my poor brother. How could she? He was her husband.

"I killed your parents, too." She continued, pushing the knife in further.

Anger seared through me, eradicating everything but the instinct to kill her right there and then."You did what?" I answered coldly, my voice the equivalent of ice.

"Well, you were gone, and they'd taken that pretty hard. I figured they'd only sink into a deeper depression with Louis dead, so I thought it'd be prudent to finish them all." I was at a loss to believe how she could stand there, telling me this, without even a hint of remorse. Had she completely let go of her humanity? She probably wouldn't have cared, either way, there had been nothing good about Adeline even when she was human.

"You bitch." I spat venomously. "You selfish bitch." I all but flew across the room and slammed her against the wall, my hand at her neck. She was only a little younger than me, but I had just fed so I was stronger. I tightened my hand, constricting her airways. "I swear, Adeline, I will rip your heart from your chest if I have to. If you want to trust me on anything, trust me on that."

She mustered the strength to push me off and returned the favour. She grabbed my neck and pinned me against the wall.

"You honestly think Elijah will let you kill me?" She snarled. I pulled her hand from my neck and pushed her forcefully away from me so that almost fell over."Really? He doesn't seem to be doing anything to stop me now."

We both looked at Elijah who had been watching us with amusement. I frowned, shouldn't he have been trying to protect Adeline? Instead he was standing by as I threatened to kill her. It was strange, it wasn't how I expected him to react. Damon, on the other hand, was stood a little further away, watching me with concern. He didn't get involved, I didn't blame him. All three of us were older and stronger than him. Adeline or Elijah could have ripped him to pieces without trying. I could have, too, but Damon was my friend.

"You know what?" I turned to Elijah, turning my back on Adeline. "I almost believed you with the whole 'I'm sorry for what I did I hate myself'. I should have known it was all lies. It's what you do best."

"Come on, Damon." We left the apartment, leaving Elijah and Adeline on their own. We didn't speak on our way out of the building. I was angry. No, I was livid. I wanted nothing more than to take Adeline's life like she had taken my families, but if Elijah truly did have feelings for her, he'd have my head before I'd even tried.


	27. Go To Hell

**Ava's POV:**

"I swear, Damon. If you don't kill Elijah then I will." I snarled as soon as we got out of earshot of Adeline and Elijah. I was shaking I was that angry. "Come on," Damon said, glancing up at the building to make sure we weren't being followed. "Let's get you home."

As soon as we arrived back at the boarding house, Damon went straight for the alcohol. He didn't bother getting a glass, he swigged it straight from the bottle before offering it to me. I took it with a bitter smile and downed some of the alcohol, relishing the harshness of the alcohol on my throat.

"Urgh, life sucks!" I exclaimed, falling back onto the sofa. Damon flopped down beside me and pulled the bottle from my hand and downed some himself.

"That's the beauty of it, honey."

I made a noise of dissent, I wouldn't have chosen the word 'beauty' to describe it.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. Kill Adeline maybe?" I suggested lightly as though the sound of her name didn't send surges of anger coursing through my veins.

"Sounds like a good plan. That girl's a bitch." Damon put his arm round me.

"Right! She was a bitch when we were human too. If I hated her then I absolutely despise her now." I sighed, the alcohol was numbing the pain, I felt detached from reality. "I can't believe she killed them." I murmured, willing myself not to cry. I'd sincerely hoped that after I'd run off, my parents and brother would have grieved for me and then moved on with their life, instead Adeline had murdered them in cold blood merely because they had been affected by my disappearance. I wasn't one to talk when it came to murder, I'd killed a lot of people in my time, it came with being a vampire, but this was my family! Hell, they had been her family too! She wasn't going to get away with this. Even if died in the process, I was going to make sure she paid.

I woke up in the morning lay head-to-tail on the sofa with Damon. We'd stayed up until the early hours of the morning discussing nothing that held any importance and drinking. I put a hand to my head with a groan as I sat up. I had an awful hangover. Damon, having been woken up by my groan, emitted one of his own.

"Headache?" I asked.

"The worst."

I grinned and kicked him off the sofa. "Get up and get me some blood. Today is an important day."

"Oh? And why is that?" He said, getting to his feet.

"I am going to kill Adeline!" I replied, getting up. I expected Damon to drop his cheery attitude and attempt to persuade me otherwise, but instead he replied with: "What a coincidence! I'm going to kill Elijah today!"

"That's brilliant! That means he can't stop me from killing Adeline. High five!" I held out my hand and he clapped his into mine. I wasn't sure where this positive attitude was coming from. Adeline had still killed my family, but the prospect of killing her filled me with optimism.

Damon planned to kill Elijah at a dinner party he was hosting later on in the evening. I decided to wait until Elijah went to this dinner party to go looking for Adeline. I wanted Elijah clean out of the way.

Damon had promised to send me a message when Elijah arrived so I'd know that I was in the clear. I had planned on going to the Martin's appartment first since that was where Elijah was staying, but on a visit to my apartment - the day was long and I was getting bored - I found Adeline there, treating the place as if it were her own.

"What gave you the idea that you could stay here?" I demanded as I walked through the door and noticed her sat on my sofa. She looked up at me with a grin, she looked completely at ease. "Well you have a blood stock and Elijah has stuff to be getting on with, so I figured I'd hang out here."

"So what, is Elijah like your boyfriend now?"

Adeline laughed. "Boyfriend? Try again." She held her hand out to me, showing me a ring on her left hand. I stared at it, they were _married_!  
>Rage, betrayal and a sickening feeling I couldn't quite identify all dominated my senses. Had she not done enough damage?<p>

For the most part of the day we argued. We argued about Louis, about my parents, about Elijah, about anything we could think of. I wanted to kill her so badly, but I forced myself to wait for Damon's message.

It wasn't until early evening that I got a message from Damon saying: _Good to go._

Smiling to myself, a put my phone in my pocket and turned to look at Adeline who was sat on the sofa, still. I was in the kitchen drinking from a glass of blood. I drained the glass, revelling at the power that pulsated through me.

"Adeline, can I ask you a question?" I adopted a softer tone of voice than the one I'd been using. I sat next to her on the sofa and tried my best to look unthreatening. I was luring her into a false sense of security.

"Uh, sure." She said, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Did Elijah…did he ever love me, do you think?"

She grinned and I suppressed one of my own, I knew she wouldn't be able to resist an opportunity to make me feel bad about myself.

"I'd like to say he did, but honey, I don't think so! I think he was courting you in order to get closer to me, you know, with me being married to Louis and all."

I looked down, trying to look as though this news upset me. As it happened, it did anger me.

"That's a shame." I said, sighing. Taking her off guard, I launched forward and forced my hand through her chest and grabbed hold of her heart. She cried out in pain, her breaths coming in short, sharp bursts as she struggled to break free."You feel that, Adeline?" I snarled, tightening my hold on her heart. "Can you feel me crushing your heart between my fingers?"

She nodded, tears of pain running down her face. "Please," She whispered.

"That's how I felt when I walked in on you and Elijah back in 1502. That's how I felt when you told me you killed my brother and my parents. You disgust me, Adeline. You can go to hell." With that, I pulled her heart from her body and watched in satisfaction as the life faded from her eyes.


	28. Lies

**Ava's POV:**

I let Adeline's heart drop beside her, grinning at her lifeless body. It wasn't justice, killing her didn't do my parents and my brothers death justice, but it sure made me feel a hell of a lot better about it. Utterly satisfied with myself, I headed over to the kitchen so that I could wash her unworthy blood from my hands. I wanted to tell Damon that the deed was done, but I needed him to call me, otherwise I might have called when Elijah was not yet dead and given away the plan.

It was a few hours before he phoned. In that time I'd managed to clean up the blood that had leaked onto the sofa and dispose of Adeline's body.  
>It was getting on for midnight when my phone finally rang. I hastened to answer it.<p>

"Is it done?" I asked, not bothering to beat about the bush.

"It's done." Came Damon's reply. I felt…weird. I was relieved, of course, Elijah and Adeline were dead and all was right in the world but I couldn't help but feel a little sad. This was _Elijah_, he was the only man I had ever intended to marry and now he was dead…I shook myself internally, he had wronged me, death was too kind.

"…as long as we keep the dagger in, he's dead." I was brought back to reality by Damon's words. Was he suggesting…?

"You mean, if we take the dagger out, he comes back?"

"He's an Original. He was never going to be easy to kill."

I sighed. It was true. So he could come back to life, I hoped that if that were ever to happen, I would be far, far away.

"Make sure that dagger stays firmly in."

"What about you? Did you kill Adeline?"

I grinned. "I sure did. Adeline is currently buried in a far off field, minus her heart."

Damon laughed. The murder of Elijah and Adeline had certainly heightened our spirits. "That's my girl." He paused. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to go far, far away and I'm never going to come back to this godforsaken town. Not whilst it has any connection to Elijah, anyway."

And that's exactly what I did. I took my stuff, left my apartment - not that it mattered, I'd compelled the landlord to leave it alone until I got back - and went. For weeks I went from city to city doing whatever the hell I pleased. I had sex, I killed and I fed. It wasn't until I started hearing suspicious rumours that I stopped my blood bender.  
>I was at a club one night, on a 'date' if you will with a fellow vampire. His name was David and he was a century or so younger than me.<p>

"Oh hey! You know what I've been hearing?" He exclaimed half way through the evening as I was steadily drinking my way to a monster hangover.

"What have you heard, David?"

"You know the curse of the sun and the moon?"

"I do indeed." I replied, wondering where on earth he was going with this.

"There are rumours that the doppelganger exists. I got told that the bloodline ended with the last one, but apparently not!" He took a thoughtful sip from his drink. "I wonder if I could get hold of her. Delivering the doppelganger is a sure-fire way of getting an Original's approval."

I stared at him. How could word have gotten out? Elijah was dead, wasn't he? Instead of freaking out, I remained calm and asked David where he'd heard this and where the doppelganger was.

"I've heard it quite a few times off various vampires." He replied. "Apparently she's living in some small town in Atlanta. Magic Falls or something."

"Mystic." I corrected automatically. This was bad. News of the doppelganger had gotten out, vampires would be queuing up to take her.

"Could you excuse me for a moment, David?" I asked with a smile. Without waiting for an answer, I slipped off to the restrooms which were, thankfully, empty. I took out my phone and dialled Damon's number as fast as I could.

"Ava? What's wrong?" Damon asked as soon as he picked up.

"Damon, Elena's existence is no longer a secret. I've just been talking to a vampire who says he's heard rumours from various different vampire's that the doppelganger exists. You have to be careful, if Klaus hears about thi-"

"Ava. Let me stop you there. Klaus had already graced us with his presence. He's here in Mystic Falls."

"He's there! Why didn't you tell me!"

"Oh, and Elijah's alive." I groaned. Klaus was in Mystic Falls and Elijah was alive. Perfect. It seemed like the perfect time for me to return.

"Ok, I'm coming back."

"Wha- no!"

"Damon, you need all the help you can get! I knew Klaus for a short period of time, I can talk to him. It probably won't make a difference to Elena's fate but I can probably persuade him not to harm anyone else."

I ditched my 'date' and headed straight for Mystic Falls. I was scared of Klaus - who wasn't? - but I didn't hate him, not like I had in 1502. I hated Elijah for his betrayal and I had hated Klaus because he had killed me, but after 5 centuries, I had come to realise how utterly satisfying killing was. I had a certain respect for human life, but when it came to feeding, I would always put myself first. I couldn't hate Klaus for killing me, anymore, when I'd killed more than my fair share of humans.

I arrived back to my apartment in the early hours of the morning. Deciding that it would be prudent to wait until morning to go marching into Mystic Falls, I headed straight to bed. I'd need a clear head for the morning.

I was woken in the morning by the sound of my phone ringing. Grudgingly, I got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Ava."

Urgh, Elijah."What do you want?"

"To talk."

"Forget it." I hung up and fell back against the pillows. It wasn't until I was woken up again that I got out of bed. There was an incessant knocking on my door. Groaning in annoyance, I got out of bed and hastened to answer it. I flung open the door in a bad temper to find Elijah stood, dressed smartly whilst I was stood before him wearing nothing but a vest top and my underwear. His eyes drifted downwards and I felt myself blushing. I made a mental note to never open the door to anyone after just waking up.

"I don't remember inviting you over." I said, drawing his attention away from my lack of clothes. I left the door open for him and headed back to my bedroom. I heard him close the door behind him. I pulled on a pair of jeans and went back out to him, pushing my tousled hair from my face.

"What do you want, Elijah?"

"I hear you killed Adeline."

I felt a spasm of nerves. He wasn't here to avenge her, was he?  
>"Yeah, sorry about that. I know you loved her and all that." I replied scathingly, turning away from him and heading for the kitchen in the hope that he wouldn't notice my obvious fear.<p>

"I didn't."

"That's not what she told me." I called from the kitchen, fixing myself a drink. It was probably too early in the morning for alcohol, but I couldn't have cared less.

"Well, you know as well as I how the powerful the gift of compulsion is."

I froze in the act of downing my glass of vodka, staring at him.

"What?"

He smirked and, despite myself, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I ignored them and focused on the conversation.

"None of it was real. We didn't see each other after you ran away. We're not married as I'm sure she told you, and I didn't love her."

"I don't…I don't understand."

He walked forwards until he was a few feet away from me. "I turned her because I needed her help in looking for you. She proved to be most un-useful so I let her go off on her own. It was only recently when I found you that I called her back. I compelled her to believe we'd been together all that time. Everything she told you was a lie."

I gaped at him, was he _serious_?

"So if you'd found me, why did you need to bring her back?" I asked.

He shrugged. "To make you jealous."

I stammered for a moment or two, trying to come up with a rational response. "I can't believe I'm hearing this!"

He opened his mouth to reply when his phone went off. He took it from his pocket and checked it. "And that's my cue to go." He murmured, tucking it back into his pocket.

"You can just leave now!" I cried indignantly. "You can't just reveal all this new information and then bugger off without a rational explanation."

Elijah didn't seem too bothered by my reaction. In fact, he laughed and disappeared.


	29. Envy

**Ava's POV:**

Despite the fact that the whole Adeline-Elijah relationship was all fake, I was still angry at him for making me believe them! For trying to make me jealous! He was acting like a 12 year old.  
>Well, if that was how he wanted to play it, then fine. I phoned Damon, hoping he'd be able to give me Klaus' location. It turned out Klaus had taken over Alaric's apartment. I'd only been to Alaric's apartment once, when Damon had sent me in order to do some research on the Originals. This was convenient as it meant that I knew where it was <em>and <em>I'd been invited in.

I filled myself up with a blood bag before going - I wanted to be as strong as possible - not that it would make much difference. Klaus was stronger than I'd ever be. It didn't take me long to get to Alaric's apartment, and though I was scared, I kept telling myself that I'd survived Klaus when I was human, I was a lot stronger now. Besides, he had no reason to kill me.

I knocked on the door - I wouldn't have bothered but, it was Klaus - and waited patiently for a response. An unfamiliar woman opened the door, behind her I could see Katherine sat sulking in a chair. The woman narrowed her eyes at me. "Yes?"

Before I could answer, the man whose company I was seeking came walking out from one of Alaric's room. His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Well, if it isn't my brother's run away bride!" He exclaimed, coming forward. The woman stepped out of the way when he reached the door. He extended his arm, took my hand and lead me into the apartment.

"You look good, Klaus." It wasn't a lie. His hair was shorter than I remembered but it looked good on him. I liked what he was wearing, too. Whilst Elijah wore smart suits, Klaus' style was more casual.

"What brings you to town, Ava?"

"I heard you were here, thought I'd come join in the fun." I replied with a grin.

"Is that so?"

"Mhm-hmm." He returned my smile and without turning around, said: "Katerina, Greta, give us a moment will you?"

Katherine and the other woman, Greta, left the room, though neither of them looked happy about it.

"It's good to see you, Ava." His eyes drifted down my body and then up again with an appreciative expression. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him. It wasn't the same way I'd been attracted to Elijah, it was more…physical.

"Good to see you too, Klaus."

"Have you seen my brother at all?"

"Mhm." I replied with resentment. "He brought along his whore, Adeline, so I killed her." Klaus seemed to find this piece of information to his amusement, I assumed he wasn't a big fan of Adeline's.

"You've changed. You're less…human." said Klaus, walking very slowly towards me, gradually filling in the space between us.

"Well, I have you to thank for that. You are the one that turned me, albeit, indirectly."

"You're still mad at me for that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No. I got over it." I knew that I was being childish, but if I could get in with Klaus it would be beneficial in more than one way. For one, it would make Elijah jealous, which he deserved after playing that dirty trick with Adeline, and secondly, the Salvatore's could use someone who had access to Klaus. Not to mention the fact I was becoming increasingly attracted to him.

"So, what brings _you _to town?" I asked him, feigning ignorance on my part.

"Well, the doppelganger's here. I thought it was about time to get that curse broken."

"Sounds reasonable." I lied. I knew better than to question his plans. He could rip my heart out faster than I could blink.  
>My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out to find a message from Damon. I sighed. "I have to go." I looked up at him. "Nice seeing you, Klaus." I smirked at him before leaving. I was surprised he let me go without demanding who the message was from.<p>

Once outside the apartment block, I let out a sigh of relief. I was relieved that he hadn't killed me on sight.  
>Damon's message asked me where I was, instead of texting back, I rang him instead.<p>

"Where are you?" He burst out as soon as he picked up.

"I just left Alaric's, what's up?"

"Did you see Klaus?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"I didn't find out anything that we don't already know. He's here for Elena and to break the sun and moon curse."

I heard Damon's sigh of frustration. Protecting Elena was going to be a hell of a lot harder with Klaus in town. "It's not the sun and the moon curse. The curse of the sun and the moon doesn't exist."

"What do you mean? Why would Klaus want to break a curse that doesn't exist?" I had reached my car by this time. With a glance up at the building to make sure Klaus hadn't followed me, I got inside my car.

"There's a curse, but it's not the sun and the moon curse. Klaus is half werewolf half vampire. Th-"

"He's what! Is that even possible? How did you find this out?"

"He's half werewolf half vampire." Damon repeated impatiently. "The curse keeps his werewolf side dormant, that's why he wants to break it."

I swore under my breath, this was worse than any of us could have thought. If Klaus broke the curse, he'd be able to turn into a wolf. He'd be lethal.

"So, what now?"

"Elijah's got some mystical, magical elixir that he claims will bring Elena back to life."

"Do you believe him?"

"No! Even if I did, I'm not pinning all my faith on a potion he had made over 500 years ago!"

I was silent. I knew Elijah well enough to know that he was a man of his word. Despite his infraction the night before our wedding, I'd never known him not to follow through on a promise. This wasn't just my opinion, either. I'd met people - vampires - who knew him better than I did, and they'd told me that Elijah was a man of his word.

"I think you should trust Elijah, Damon. He wants Klaus dead, the same as you. You can trust him."

"How did he manage to lure you back into his web?" Damon asked me nastily. I was shocked by the tone of his voice.

"He hasn't! I'm just saying!"

"Well don't." And he hung up. I stared at my phone in disbelief. I was trying to _help_!

Having no desire to see Damon after his less-than-warm goodbye, I went home instead. I'd barely stepped inside the door when a dark figure loomed out of the darkness towards me. Instinctually, I shot over to the figure, intending to force them against the wall by their neck. They were stronger than me, though, and it was me that ended up against the wall with a hand clasped around my neck.

"Careful," came Klaus' voice. He was so close I could feel his breath against my skin. "You might hurt yourself."


	30. Lust

**Ava's POV:**

"Klaus!" I all but whispered, terrified. What was he doing? Had he found out that I was actually working against him? Was he here to kill me? Apparently not. After a moment or two, he released me from his iron-clad grip with a grin.

"Relax, sweetheart."

I rubbed my neck where he'd had hold of me and tried to return the grin. "What are you doing here, Klaus?"

"I haven't seen you for over 500 years! Are we not entitled to become reacquainted?"

I smiled in response, the terror slowly ebbing from my system. I walked past him and flicked on the lights before turning back to face Klaus. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching me intensely. His gaze was so intense, in fact, that the fire in my stomach flared up. I ignored it.

"So I gather than your and Elijah's relationship has continued to disintegrate over the years?" I offered, giving him a half smile.

"Indeed. The whole me-killing-you thing really got to him. So did the fact that I basically lead you to find him and Adeline doing what they shouldn't."

I laughed, they sounded like such minimal problems when he said them like that.

"Well, I'm glad you did." I paused. "Lead me to find him and Adeline, that is. I wasn't too keen on you killing me, either."

"It was my pleasure." He said with the tiniest inclination of his head. "As soon as I realised what he and Adeline were up to, my first thought was to help you find out. I didn't want you finding out later on and being hurt even more so."

I scoffed, was he really going to try and make out that he was just being a good person?

"Oh, please. You just wanted to cause as much trouble as you could." I replied in amusement, raising an eyebrow."Not necessarily," said Klaus, his smirk fading slightly. "I had other motives."

I cocked my head to the side slightly. Other motives? What other motivation could he have possibly had?

"Care to elaborate?"

He came forward so quickly that he covered the space between us in a second.

"Maybe later." He raised a hand and pushed my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. "So pretty." He whispered.

My breathing was becoming heavier as my heart rate increased, it was embarrassing. Klaus didn't seem to notice. He was leaning in, his face drawing closer to mine with every passing moment. He brushed his lips against mine ever so softly before pulling back so that he could gage my reaction. Overwhelmed by a sudden wave of desire, I would my arms around his neck and crushed my lips to his. He responded instantaneously; one hand went to my waist whilst the other knotted in my hair, securing my face to his as his lips moved in sync with mine. It was a situation made all the more desirable by the fact that it was wrong.

We continued in that manner for quite a while. The more time we spent, the more aggressive it got. He slammed me into the wall, my legs went around his waist, his teeth bit into the skin above my collar bone and my nails dug into his back. The gasps of pain turned into moans of sheer bliss as we both became consumed every pleasurable emotion you could think of.

I woke up, having fallen asleep a few hours ago after entirely exhausting myself with Klaus. I couldn't help but let a smirk grace my lips at the mere thought of my encounter with him. I glanced to my right; Klaus was sleeping soundly next to me. He looked so peaceful, so innocent. Had I have not known him, I wouldn't have guessed in a million years what he was, or what he was capable of.

I eased myself carefully off the bed, not wanting to wake him up. I grabbed my top and underwear from the floor and put them on as a compromise outfit. I walked carefully out of the room, closing the door gently behind me. I didn't bother to turn the main light on, instead I turned on the lamp by the sofa. The dim light flooded the room, filling it with an amber glow. It was relaxing.

I poured myself a glass of blood - I'd used up a lot of energy - and dropped down onto the sofa. Now that I was awake, I didn't feel remotely tired despite the fact it was the middle of the night. I picked up the remote from the floor, switched on the tv, making sure to keep the volume down, and began to flick through the channels. As was to be expected at this hour, there was nothing on that particularly grabbed my attention.

I must have sat, staring at the tv, for at least 2 hours, if not more. I drifted off to sleep at some point, waking up only when the sun was shining in through the windows. Shielding my eyes from the bright light, I got up from where I'd been uncomfortably positioned on the sofa and walked back into my bedroom. The bed was empty and judging by the still silence that filled my apartment, he had left. Charming.

I had showered and dressed when my phone started ringing. It was Damon. Still a little pissed about the way he'd spoken to me the previous afternoon, I ignored it and let it go through to voicemail. A minute later, my phone vibrated telling me I had a voicemail. I pressed my phone to my ear and listened to the message he'd left:

"Ava? Where are you? The sacrifice is happening tonight, I need you over here."

Klaus was carrying out the sacrifice tonight? All thoughts of the previous night were pushed from my bothering to call Damon back or at least tell him I was coming, I hurried out the apartment and down to my car, hoping I'd get there in time to be of some assistance.

I arrived at the boarding house a short while later, only to run into Elijah who seemed to be leaving.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as I got out of the car.

"I could ask you the same question."

"We were going over the finer plot details of the sacrifice and things got a little…complicated."

I frowned. "How do you mean?"

"Well, Damon decided to take the matter of saving Elena into his own hands and fed her his blood."

I gasped. Damon fed Elena his blood? I groaned, typical Damon. "She'll come back a vampire. I have to go and talk to him." I made to turn away with the intention of finding Damon and asking him what the hell he'd been thinking when he'd decided to condemn her to the life of a monster when Elijah grabbed my arm.

"Don't." He pulled me towards him. "They need to sort it out between themselves."

I stared at him and he stared right back. "If I asked you to come somewhere with me, would you?"

I hesitated for a moment. I glanced at the house and then back at Elijah indecisively.

"Fine." I answered finally. If Damon had been upset enough to force-feed Elena his blood, he probably wasn't in any mood to talk to me.

Elijah took me to the Martin's apartment. I guessed since they were both dead, he was living there now.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, glancing around the room. It was cold and it had a slightly unkempt feel about it.

"I have something for you."

I raised an eyebrow. What on earth could Elijah possibly have that would interest me? I watched as he located a box on one of the shelves and fiddled around with it for a moment. After a moment or two, he turned to face me. He was holding an item of jewellery, a necklace I think. It was delicate and had an intricate pattern of silver over what looked like a diamond. It was beautiful and vaguely familiar.

"What is that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Elijah beckoned me forwards, holding the necklace out towards me. I walked slowly towards him, my eyes focused on the necklace. It wasn't until I had reached out to take it when something clicked in my memory.

I gasped softly. "Is that…?"

"Your mothers."

I stared at him. "Where did you get it?"

"After your parents died-"

"After Adeline murdered them." I cut in bitterly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that she planned to kill them, I would have stopped her." He said it in such a sincere tone of voice, I couldn't help but believe him.

"After your parents died," he continued, "I went to their house to get this. Your mother once told me how you used to beg her to let you wear it when you were younger, and I thought that if I ever found you, it would be nice for you to have this as a reminder of your parents."

My eyes filled with tears at the distant memory of me as a young girl, begging my mother to let me wear her jewellery. That necklace had been my absolute favourite, it was so beautiful.

I took the necklace from his outstretched hand as a single tear fell down onto my face.

"Thank you."


	31. The Sacrifice

**Ava's POV:**

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty after Elijah gave me the necklace about sleeping with Klaus. Of course, this random act of kindness didn't earn my forgiveness, it was going to take a lot more than that, but I still felt a little guilty given the fact that they were brothers.

I turned my face away from Elijah so that he couldn't see that I was overcome with emotion and wiped the tear that had trailed down my face away.

"So is that all you wanted? Can I go now?"

"Not exactly."

I turned around, all traces of my emotional moment gone, to face him. "Get on with it, then."

"I wanted to apologise."

"For?"

"Everything. I know that you feel I ruined your life, and I quite agree, I never intended for you to be turned the way you were, if at all. It was selfish of me to even become involved in your life, given what I am." He paused and let his eyes search for my face for a reaction. When I didn't do anything but stare at him, he continued. "What happened between me and Adeline…it was unforgivable. I know that doesn't excuse what I did, but I just want you to know how sorry I am."

I nodded silently. I didn't know how to respond. The most appropriate reply, I guess, would have been to say 'that's ok, I forgive you,' but that would be a lie.

Eager to change the subject of the conversation, I broke eye contact with him for a moment and coughed self-consciously.

"So, uh, what's the plan for tonight? You do have a plan, right? For the sacrifice?"

"It's relatively straight forward. We let Klaus carry out the sacrifice. Once it is completed, he will started transitioning into a werewolf, he'll be weak. That's where Bonnie comes in. If she can channel enough power to deliver him to the brink of death, I'll kill him myself."

"That's it? You're just going to kill him? Your own brother?" I questioned. I wasn't trying to persuade him otherwise, I knew that Klaus had to be killed, even if I had spent last night having my wicked way with him.

"Can you think of any other way to stop him once he breaks the curse?"

"No, I mean…he's your brother. I know if the situation was reversed and this were my brother we were talking about, I wouldn't be able to do it. I loved my brother, killing him would have killed me."

Elijah surveyed me silently, a small smile coming to his lips. "It's been a long time since Klaus and I have acted like brothers."

"Ok well…good luck." I gave him a half smile which he returned. I turned to leave, I could feel his gaze watching my every move.

"Elijah?" I said, turning back around.

"Yes?"

"Be careful."

I'd managed to get in touch with Damon, neither of us mentioned our disagreement the night before, I took it I was forgiven for trusting Elijah. He told me that whilst the sacrifice was taking place he, Alaric, John, Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan and Elijah were all taking refuge in an old abandoned house which was also a witch burial ground apparently. I arrived to find Elijah stood outside. Damon and Stefan were a little way away having an in depth conversation. I guessed that Alaric, John, Jeremy and Bonnie were inside.

"What's going on?" I asked Elijah, staring up at the house.

"Klaus took Jenna to use as his vampire for the sacrifice."

I gaped at him. "W-what? But she's human…isn't she?"

"Not anymore."

I'd met Jenna only once, she'd been oblivious to the vampire situation on Mystic Falls. I was assuming she knew all about them now.

"Why Jenna?"

"He was going to use Caroline, Damon saved her and Tyler from the tomb. Using Jenna's is Klaus' punishment for meddling."

I thought for a moment. Jenna was one of Elena's only guardian's left, to let her die would to leave Elena and her brother with almost nobody.

"What if we let him use me instead?"

It was almost as if Elijah knew what I was going to say before I said it. He replied almost instantly in a tone of voice that had a note of finality to it. "He won't use you."

"What? How do you kn-"

"He won't use you." Elijah repeated, not looking at me.

Before I could pursue the matter, Bonnie came marching up the stairs. She gave Elijah a significant look, I guessed they were ready.

Alaric came hurrying over, "I've got the weapons in the car."

"Bonnie's the only weapon we need." Elijah replied, stepping out of the door. Alaric made to follow only to find himself impeded by an invisible barrier.

"Bonnie?"

"I'm sorry. I can't risk anyone else getting hurt." Came Bonnie's reply.

"Damon!"

"Sorry, buddy."

Alaric tried with all his might to break the barrier to no avail. He turned to me with an exasperated expression. I shrugged, if Bonnie had put up some magical barrier there was nothing I could do about it.

The night dragged. I couldn't get out of the house but I didn't feel as though I should be there either. It felt as though I was imposing on something personal.

Morning came at last. I waited as impatiently as everyone else for news but I continued to keep my distance.

At last, I heard someone enter the house. It was a moment or two before I heard Damon's voice.

"If you come back as a vampire, I'll stake you myself, so don't…because I can't stand the idea of you hating me forever."

I heard both Jeremy and Alaric rush into the room. "How is she!" Came Jeremy's voice. He was obviously worried.

"I don't know yet." Damon replied.

"What about Jenna?" Alaric asked.

Silence.

"No." Alaric murmured. I closed my eyes in disbelief. Klaus had sacrificed Jenna.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy." said Damon.

I heard someone gasping for breath - Elena - and Damon muttering her name.

"How do you feel?" He asked urgently.

"I feel fine." Elena replied, though she seemed to be out of breath.

I figured it was about time for me to leave. I'm sure they wanted time to be alone. I made my way quietly down the stairs to find Damon walking out of the room where Elena was now talking with Jeremy.

"You ok?"

He looked exhausted. He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Jenna's dead, I'm dying, Elijah double-crossed us, Klaus is still alive, but Elena's ok so…"

I stared at him, wondering where to start. "You're dying!" I exclaimed. Damon shushed me, glancing round to where Elena, Jeremy and Alaric were to make sure none of them had heard. He put his hand on my shoulder and led me outside.

"What do you mean you're dying?" I whispered, though there was no way they would hear us from here. Damon pushed up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a nasty looking wound.

"What is that?"

"Werwolf bite."

I stared at him in shock. "Damon, you do realise that there's no cure for a werewolf bite, right?"

"Of course I do." Damon replied irritably. "Just do me a favour and don't mention it to anyone."

I opened my mouth to protest when Damon held up his hand to stop me. "Please."

I sighed and shook my head. "Fine. Where's Elijah?"

A dark look passed over Damon's face. "Well when it came down to it, he couldn't do it. Klaus started spouting all this crap about how he'd reunite Elijah with their family, and Elijah grabbed Klaus and ran."

"There are other Originals?" I asked in confusion. Neither Elijah or Klaus had ever mentioned any others to me.

"I'd have thought out of all people he'd have told you."

I shook my head. "Yeah, you'd have thought."


	32. Uninvited

**Ava's POV:**

2 days came and went without any sign of Elijah or Klaus. I wondered where they were and what they were doing. If I was certain of one thing, it was that whatever they were doing, it couldn't be good.

The days that followed the sacrifice were subdued. Everyone was still reeling from the event. Alaric was, obviously devastated by the death of Jenna, as were Elena and Jeremy. In addition to that, they also had to deal with the death of John. Whilst they may not have liked him, John had been their only surviving guardian, and he'd given his life to protect Elena's.

Damon was still insisting that I keep the news of his werewolf bite a secret, though he had told his brother.

I watched, helplessly, as Damon's condition deteriorated. I wanted to help him, I really did, but I didn't know how. Blood only seemed to make him worse and after a while, he seemed to become confused over what was really happening and what wasn't. It was disturbing to watch.

After a suicide attempt on Damon's part, Stefan locked him in the basement and put Alaric on suicide watch. I, not wanting to watch Damon go through anymore pain, knowing what lay at the end, decided to head home. I told Stefan to call me if there were any developments or if he needed anything, but I really just needed some alone time. The whole time I'd been in Mystic Falls it had been almost non-stop action. I'd done more in the time I'd been there than I had done in the past 100 years.

I arrived back at my apartment with no desire to do anything but sleep. I let myself in and shut the door behind me, considering just falling down on the sofa and sleeping there to save myself from making my way to the bedroom.

I switched on the living room light and heaved a sigh which was quickly transformed into an exclamation of shock when a voice came from behind me.

"What are you doing here?"

I span around to find Elijah stood behind me. He looked a little tired and weary, that didn't explain why he was in my apartment, though.

"What am _I _doing here? This is my apartment! What are _you_ doing here!" I replied, staring at him incredulously. He really needed to stop popping up uninvited, it was becoming a bit of a habit and it was unsettling.

Elijah shrugged carelessly. "I was hungry and I didn't think you'd be here given Damon's situation."

"Oh, well I apologise. Please, continue to steal my blood supply, I insist!" I replied sarcastically to which he smirked.

"Where's Klaus?" I asked, pleased to see that the smirk was wiped from his face.

"Out there, somewhere. I'll need to go and clean up the trail of dead bodies soon enough, but I thought I'd give him time to revel in his new found wolf form."

"Speaking of which, care to explain why he isn't dead?"

Elijah hesitated for a moment, he was watching me closely as though he was deciding how to word something.

"He promised me he'd reunite me with my family. I don't want to be alone, Ava. If I'd have killed Klaus, I'd have never found them."

I glared at him, though I couldn't argue with him. I knew how it felt to not have family, I'd been alone for the most part of 500 years, I'd have given anything to have them back with me now, which is exactly what Elijah had done.

"You of all people should understand." Elijah continued, taking my silence for his cue to carry on.

"Which brings me to my next question."

Elijah cocked his head to the side slightly, indicating for me to elaborate. I turned away from him and started to make my way to the kitchen. "You say that you turned Adeline because you needed help in finding me, correct?" I turned to face him again when I reached the kitchen counter.

"Yes…"

"Why Adeline? Why not Louis? He knew me much better than Adeline did." It was something that had been bugging me ever since I'd found out Adeline was still alive. Elijah had known perfectly well that Adeline and I hadn't gotten along, so why had he chosen her to help search for me when there were other people who knew me better? Even one of the maids would have been a more sensible decision. I thought that because he'd chosen Adeline, maybe he did have feelings for her after all. I hated to admit it, even to myself, but the thought made me sick to the stomach.

"Louis did know you better," Elijah agreed with a slightly inclination of the head. "As did Alexandre, Charlotte, Danton and Giselle." He paused and I folded my arms, waiting for the blow.

"They were also your family, even Alexandre and Charlotte. They were all people you cared about, and I knew that if I turned any of them, if I ever found you, you'd hate me even more than you do now for giving them a life that you didn't even want for yourself."

I sighed, there was no winning with Elijah. I was trying to hate him, I did hate him, for what he had done with Adeline, but every time he revealed something like this, or the thing with the necklace, he managed to hit a soft spot somewhere inside of me, something that no one had managed to do except, of course, him back when I was still a naïve, innocent human. He was slowly chipping away at the wall of hatred that I'd built to keep him out. Whether it was intentional or not, I didn't know. What I did know was that Elijah wasn't a complete monster like Klaus. Klaus was completely out for himself, everything he did was to benefit himself - and, though he was an ass, I was still incredibly attracted to him - whereas Elijah, he had compassion, he wasn't heartless. He did what was necessary but he took others into consideration.

"Ok, so what now?" I asked, steering the conversation away from my family and to the impending doom that was a direct result of Elijah's failure to carry out the plan.

"Klaus reunites me with my family."

"Yeah, and then what? There are bigger issues here than you and your family, Elijah."

"I'm well aware of that." said Elijah curtly, averting his gaze from mine.

"Well then what are you going to do about it? Klaus lives because you decided not to kill him, which means wherever he goes from here is on you. If he succeeds in creating his freaky mutant-werewolf-vampire-minion-army-type-people then there's going to be chaos. He'll be unstoppable. A lot of people will die."

"You think I haven't thought about that? Why do you think I really came here, Ava? I could get blood from anywhere I wanted. I came to check that he hadn't decided to go for you. I intended to kill him, and he knows that perfectly well, he also knows that he can hurt me by hurting you, he's already done it once."

I was silent. I felt a little guilty. I was assuming that Klaus hadn't told Elijah about our encounter. It was best that it stayed that way. Elijah would surely kill me.

Elijah misinterpreted my silence. He seemed to think that I'd been stunned into silence by his desire to protect me. That wasn't it, at all. I highly doubted that Klaus would try and kill me again.

"Ava, I-" Elijah began, taking a tentative step towards me.

"Don't say it." I interrupted, holding my hand up to stop him.

"But I-"

"I said don't say it. This doesn't change anything, Elijah. You came to check that your brother hadn't killed me. So what? You also cheated on me with my sister-in-law the day before our wedding."

"I'm sorry. I really am. I am so sorry for that."

"Yeah, well, so am I." I snapped.

"For what?" He asked, confused.

"For trusting you."

We stared at each other for a moment. My gaze was defiant whereas his was hurt. After a long, painful moment of staring intensely at each other, I tore away my gaze and when I went to look at him again, he was gone.


	33. Recruitment

**I probably should have said this sooner but thank you all so much for reading/reviewing/subscribing and all that. I'm really glad that you all like the story.**

**Ava's POV:**

Long after Elijah left, I got a phone call from Damon was, as I could tell merely from the tone of his voice, was not getting any better.

"Ava?"

"Damon? What's wrong?"

"Where are you?"

"At home, why?"

He paused, he seemed to be struggling to get his words out. "I've might have found away to get Katherine out of the tomb but I need your help."

I felt a flash of déjà vu at his words, but it didn't pass. That's when I realised it wasn't déjà vu, we'd had this conversation before, 30 years or so back.

"Damon, Katherine's not in the tomb." I reasoned, trying to ease him back into reality.

"What! What are you talking about?"

"Katherine's in Alaric's apartment, with Klaus."

There was a long pause. "Oh…yeah." There was another moment of silence before Damon spoke again. "Will you come by?"

I went to check what time it was, but then I stopped. If Damon was dying, then it didn't matter what time it was because he didn't have much left.

"Of course."

I arrived at the boarding house an hour or so later. It was dark and I sincerely hoped I wasn't too late. Quietly, I walked up the driveway and pushed the front door open. I could hear Damon and Elena upstairs. They seemed to be having a sentimental moment so I decided I'd wait downstairs and give them time to themselves.

"You should have met me in 1864, you'd have liked me." I heard Damon say.

"I like you now, just the way you are." I heard Elena reply.

I felt as though I was eavesdropping, so I focused my attention away from their conversation. I went to make my way to the living room when I sensed someone behind me. I whipped round to find Katherine coming in through the front door holding a small vial of what looked like blood.

"What are you doing here? How did you get out of the apartment?" I asked her, frowning.

"Klaus said I could leave. He told me to bring this to Damon." She said, indicating the small, glass vial.

"What is it?"

"His cure."

My frown deepened. "There's a cure for a werewolf bite?"

"Klaus' blood."

My eyes widened in shock. Klaus' blood was the cure for a werewolf bite? Well that was utterly inconvenient.

"Where's Stefan?"

"Well, Klaus didn't give up the cure for free. He gave Stefan an ultimatum: give Damon the cure and become his wingman or let Damon die and continue living his life here. Stefan chose the former." She replied with a careless shrug. It irritated me how utterly carefree she could be about the whole situation. Her life was in just as much peril as anybody else's.

"So, what, Stefan just gave himself over to Klaus?"

"He sure did." She said with a grin before zooming off up the stairs. I whipped my phone out from my pocket and dialled Stefan's number, only to be redirected to voicemail.

"Katherine!"

Katherine stopped in her tracks, she'd been using her supernatural speed to leave the house before I'd stopped her.

"Where's Elijah?" I figured Elijah would have had something to say about Stefan's choice to hand himself over, but Katherine hadn't mentioned him.

"Dead." She said with another shrug. "Klaus stuck that dagger in him. I guess he was still mad over the whole Elijah-trying-to-kill-him thing."

Without waiting for a response, Katherine left.

I was speechless, Elijah was dead, again? Klaus would be well and truly unstoppable without Elijah around to reason with him.

Upstairs, Elena and Damon were both reeling from the news that Katherine had given them, as was I. I made my way quickly upstairs to find Elena pacing impatiently around the room.

"So, Stefan's leaving with Klaus? We can't just let him go!" She was exclaiming, whilst Damon, who was still looking a little worse for wear, sat up on the bed looking thoroughly confused.

"I tried to ring Stefan but he didn't answer." I said, announcing my presence.

Elena pushed her hand through her hair. "We have to do something!" She turned to Damon helplessly, at a loss of what to do.

I thought for a moment. If Klaus had recruited Stefan then there was nothing we could do about that, not whilst Klaus was still alive. We could, however, send someone to watch over Stefan. I had no reason to stay in Mystic Falls, the sacrifice was broken, Elijah was dead and Damon was no longer dying. Elena couldn't abandon her life in Mystic Falls to go after Stefan, but I had no life to abandon.

"I'll go with them." I burst out abruptly.

"What?" Elena and Damon said in unison.

"I'll go with them. I'll make sure Stefan's ok. Klaus won't kill me, he would have done it already. Besides, he'll see this as a chance to get one over on Elijah."

They both stared at me as if I were insane. Maybe I was.

"We can't ask you to do that, Ava. It's too much of a risk."

"You haven't asked, I'm offering."

"Ava," Damon was getting up from the bed. "It's too dangerous."

"He won't kill me, Damon. I'm sure of it." I didn't think that now was the right time to reveal that Klaus and I were actually that little bit closer than old friends.

"Ava…" Elena began before I cut in.

"Don't try and convince me otherwise. If Stefan is left alone with Klaus, Klaus'll turn him into a monster."

Before either of them could reply, I left. I went right over to Alaric's apartment since I figured that's where Klaus and Stefan would be.

I entered to apartment to find Elijah on the floor, the dagger protruding from his chest. Stefan was sat on the floor, surrounded by blood bags, covered in blood whilst he tore through another one and Klaus was sat at the kitchen counter, drinking from a glass, looking down at Stefan with satisfaction.

"Ava," Klaus said without turning around, still watching Stefan. "What can I do for you?"

I watched Stefan for a moment, he didn't seem to be aware of anything else but the blood bag her was working his way through. I stepped over Elijah's body and seated myself on the stool next to Klaus. Both of us sat watching Stefan silently as though he was the most interesting tv programme.

"You're leaving Mystic Falls." It wasn't a question, it was more of a confirmation.

"Yes."

"Let me come with you."

We both turned to face each other at the same time. He was watching me closely, trying to work me out.

"Why on earth would you want to come?"

"I don't want to stay here any more than you do, but I don't want to go back to my own life either. I want to come with you, wherever you go. Please, let me come."

Luckily, before leaving the boarding house, I'd managed to snag myself some vervain. Since I was offering to travel with a vampire who could compel other vampires, I thought it would come in useful, and I was right.

"Tell me why you want to come." Klaus asked me, locking his gaze on mine. I adopted the vacant stare that I'd seen upon the faces of my many victims whilst I'd compelled them.

"I love you," I replied in a monotonous voice. I knew that if he thought I loved him, he'd take the chance to claim me as his own merely because of my history with Elijah. They were like toddlers fighting over a toy, it had been the same back when I'd first met them.

Klaus freed me from his ineffective compulsion with a smile and I turned away from him, pretending to be embarrassed by my 'forced' confession.

"Very well then."


	34. Dinner for Two

**Ava's POV:**

Klaus wanted to get rid of Elijah's body before leaving town, so we went to a place where he had a storage unit. I watched, making sure to keep my expression emotionless, as he placed Elijah in a coffin. Behind him, I could see a number of other coffins, I guessed that was the rest of his family.

"As promised, brother, you've been reunited with our family." He said, looking down at Elijah's lifeless form.

I folded my arms and leant against the wall, I tried to avert my eyes from Elijah's body but it was like a magnetic force, I seemed to be unable to look away.

Klaus heaved a sigh and closed the coffin. "Put him with the others." He said to the two humans he'd compelled to do his dirty work. "We're leaving town tonight."

He walked away from the coffin and walked over to Stefan who had been standing a little way away from me. I think he was angry with me for wanting to come with Klaus. He didn't know that I was doing it for him, I'd decided it was safer for him to know as much as Klaus did.

I heard his cell phone vibrate as Klaus approached him.

"So," Klaus began, watching as Stefan took out his phone. "Did Katerina make it in time?"

"You won't be seeing her again, you know?"

"Because she's on vervain?" I felt a jolt of shock…he'd known that Katherine was on vervain? Surely if he could see through her he could see through me? I kept my expression neutral, hoping against hope that my performance was more convincing than hers.

Stefan stared at him silently.

"I've been around a long time, Stefan. I rarely get played for a fool. Besides, she won't get far. You'll help me see to that."

Stefan walked forwards, it was obvious he didn't want to be here. He wasn't doing this for Klaus, he was doing it for his brother, for Elena. "What is it you really want from me?"

Klaus placed his hand on Stefan's shoulders, an onlooker could have mistaken them for good friends. "All will be explained in time, once we leave this tragic little town."

"Then are we done here? Can we go?" Stefan replied.

"Not quite. You see, I have a gift for you." Klaus turned, "Come here sweetheart," he held out his hand, gesturing to someone I could not see. "Don't be afraid."

A young girl around 18 or 19 years of age came from behind a wooden crate. She looked scared but she walked straight towards them. I guessed she'd been compelled.

Stefan looked between her and Klaus. We all knew what was coming next.

"See, I wanna make sure you honour our deal." He said, moving the girls hair back, exposing her neck. "That you'll be of use to me." He placed his hand on the girls chin and pulled her head back so that he could get to her neck. He bit down on the pale skin there and the girl started to make noises of discomfort. I didn't blame her, it wasn't a pleasant experience if I remembered rightly.

"I could have compelled her to behave, but a real ripper enjoys the hunt." He thrust the girl away from him and she began to run, screaming as she went. Stefan looked at Klaus for a few moments before the faintest of smiles touched his lips and he went after her. He caught up with her in a matter of seconds and she was forced to stop. I looked away but I still heard her cries of pain as Stefan ripped her throat out. I heard her body hit the floor and I turned back to see that Klaus had joined Stefan up on the other end of the room.

"Now we can go." He said, completely ignoring the body of the now dead girl.

The two of them began walking towards me, leaving the girl on the floor, blood pouring from her neck. I supposed it didn't matter, leaving a body behind, when you were the most powerful vampire in the world.

"Come, my lovely." Klaus held his hand out to me and I took it with a smile. "Let's leave this place. We have work to do."

We ended up in a house a couple of hundred miles away from Mystic Falls. It was a little extravagant, to say the least, but when I shot Klaus a questioning look, he shrugged nonchalantly and said 'I fancied a little luxury after the confinement of Alaric's apartment."

I rolled my eyes but said nothing. Stefan was looking up at the house with an emotionless expression.

"You ok?" I asked him, taking a step towards him.

"Fine." He replied shortly without looking at me.

I sighed and turned away from him. I suppose he thought I'd been on Klaus' side the whole time.

After we'd all settled in to what was to be our home for the foreseeable future, Klaus decided that, since we didn't have any blood, he would go out and find someone for us.

During his absence, I sat on the sofa in the living room, watching a programme to which I wasn't paying much attention. Stefan sat rigidly in an armchair, staring fixatedly at the wall opposite. He didn't talk to me and I made no attempt to speak to him either. In fact, neither of us moved a muscle until Klaus returned with a pair of girls. A blonde and a redhead, neither of which seemed aware of the danger they were walking into. He had an arm around each of them and seemed to be telling them some light hearted story at which they were both laughing.

I felt a small flash of jealousy at the sight of them both hanging off his arms, trying desperately to earn his undivided attention. It mattered not, though. Soon both of them would be dead.

"The point of you going out what to bring back enough to go around." I said, referring to the fact that there were two girls and three of us.

"Relax, sweetheart, I already had mine." He took the hand of the blonde and lead her over to Stefan, who took her hand reluctantly. She giggled.

Klaus sat the redhead down next to me and then sat down next to me.

"Her name's Adeline," he murmured in my ear. He brushed his lips against the skin just underneath my ear before adding. "I thought you'd appreciate the sentimental value."

Adeline was watching her blonde friend with mild curiosity as Stefan sank his fangs into her neck and began to drink. She seemed a hell of a lot nicer than my sister-in-law, Adeline.

I gave him a small smile before leaning away from him, towards Adeline. I was hungry, I hadn't fed in a while, and being so close to a living, breathing human whose blood I could practically see beneath her fragile skin, overwhelmed me. The whites of my eyes flushed red and my fangs descended. I was no longer myself, I was the monster that lived inside of me, the monster that was constantly threatening to break through my human persona.

My fangs pierced her neck and Adeline let out a slight moan of pain, though she didn't struggle against my grasp.

I couldn't help but let a moan of content leave me as her warm blood gushed into me mouth. I drank until there was no life left in her and the crimson river that has pouring down my throat ran dry.

I pulled away from the dead human girl and wiped the blood from around my mouth. Across the room, Stefan was finishing up with her blonde friend. Because Stefan had a lot less control when it came to drinking human blood than the average vampire, he'd all but ripped her throat out. He hadn't done it neatly and he was covered in blood, not that he seemed to care.

"Well, that was fun." Klaus said, smiling around at Stefan and I, taking my hand and threading his fingers between mine.

Stefan, who was still in a bad mood, took one look at us and got up, shoved the blonde's body to the floor and left the room, muttering 'I'm going to bed' as he went.

Klaus waited until the living room door had shut behind Stefan to speak.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was jealous." He laughed, glancing without much concern at the dead bodies of the girls.

"I'd say he's jealous of leaving his girlfriend with the brother who's in love with his girlfriend." I replied quietly enough that Stefan wouldn't hear unless he was stood outside the room with his ear pressed against the door.

Klaus laughed and got up from the sofa. He took my hand and lead me out of the room, away from dead Barbie dolls.


	35. A Surprise Attack

**Ava's POV:**

The following months passed without great incident. In fact, it was a little boring, for me at least. Klaus was looking for families that possessed the werewolf gene. He wanted to start creating his hybrid army as soon as possible. There wasn't really much for me to do. My duties consisted mainly of finding people for our blood supply; Klaus preferred drinking blood straight from the neck of a human as opposed to from a blood bag. I think he also enjoyed the satisfaction of feeling the life seep out of them through the blood that he was consuming. Feeding from humans was immensely more appealing than from a blood bag.

I hadn't heard from anyone in Mystic Falls since I'd left. Which was good. If Klaus saw me getting calls from Damon he'd immediately become suspicious.

Stefan had been getting plenty of calls from Elena and Damon, but he never answered. I'd watch, out of the corner of my eye, as his cell phone rang. He'd always take it out to see who it was, stare at it for a few moments before ignoring it. I think he wanted to stay detached from reality. Speaking to Elena or his brother would only bring out the part of him that cared. The part of him that he was trying so hard to suppress.

I felt guilty. I'd told Elena and Damon that I'd come to stop Klaus from turning Stefan into a monster, yet I hadn't done anything to prevent that. I'd forgotten that when Klaus wants to do something, you don't stand in his way. Though, saying that, Klaus was never actually violent towards me, excluding the occasion some five hundred years ago where he'd killed me. He and Stefan often got into verbal disagreements which more often that not ended up in physical combat within which Stefan ended up on the floor, bleeding profusely from the stomach. It seemed to slip Stefan's mind that Klaus was an Original and a vampire of 145 years had no chance of taking him on. No one did.

Today was no different from any other, except Klaus and Stefan stayed in instead of going out. They spent the whole day holed up in the dining room, going over plans for Klaus' hybrid army, I assumed. It wasn't until late afternoon that they emerged, Klaus looking smug, as usual and Stefan looking devoid of any emotion, as usual.

"Sweetheart, we're going out."

"Ok," I replied in a dull voice, falling down on the sofa and switching on the tv. I'd got past the point where I'd ask why and if I could come too, the answer was always a resounding no.

"Why so glum?" Klaus asked me, sitting down next to me as Stefan left the room.

"You're always going out! I get so bored here on my own." I whined, sounding very much like a 5 year old.

"Well, we don't have to leave just yet." He replied, leaning forward to brush my hair from my neck. He brushed his lips against my jawbone, trailing kisses down towards my collarbone. I couldn't help grinning as the familiar fire that always preceded sex flared up in my stomach.

Klaus pushed me down until my head was resting against the sofa. He positioned himself on top of me and pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss. My hands trailed down his sides until I got to the bottom of his shirt which I pulled upwards, exposing the skin underneath. I pulled the shirt upwards until Klaus took a hold of it and pulled it up over his head and threw it to the floor. My hands crept up his chest, stopping only when I reached his neck. I wound my arms around his neck and brushed my lips very lightly against his before turning it into a proper kiss. Our lips moved in sync urgently for a few moments before Klaus pulled away and started kissing down my neck. I could help the small smile that came to my lips as a wave of sheer bliss washed over me. He used the hand that wasn't cupped around my face to pull the material of my top away from my body. He didn't bother to pull it up and over my head, instead he ripped it apart as if it were made of nothing but paper.

With the promise of bringing someone tasty home after he'd gone about his business, Klaus left with Stefan. I wasn't as bothered as I had been earlier about his leaving, partly because he'd shown me more attention than he had done in weeks.

Smiling, I sauntered up to my room - or, our room, I supposed, since Klaus had gotten into a habit of sleeping in my room more than he slept in his own - to get showered and changed. I pulled Klaus's shirt up over my head - since he'd ripped my top in half, I'd worn his instead whilst he had worn a fresh one to go out in - and got in the shower. The warm water washed over me in a relaxing manner. It was nice.

Some two hours later, I returned back downstairs, dressed in a vest top and jeans. My hair was still slightly damp as I couldn't be bothered to dry it, but it didn't matter. I wasn't going anywhere.

I went into the kitchen and got myself a blood bag. I wrinkled my nose, I'd gotten used to drinking from humans but it would do until tonight. I ripped the cap off and started drinking it straight from the bag, too lazy to get myself a glass.

I ventured into the living room when I stopped abruptly. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up, like someone was watching me. I whipped round but no one was there. Warily, I went over to the window to see if there was anyone outside, maybe someone had been staring in? I didn't get further than a few steps when I felt a pinprick in my neck and then a searing pain. I dropped the blood bag to the floor where it started to leak blood all over the cream carpet as the searing pain spread throughout my body. Vervain. The excruciating pain engulfed me as I cried out, falling to the floor. I tried to keep my eyes open, but I wasn't strong enough. I could feel the weakness that was a result of the vervain crashing through me. All I saw of my attacker was a shadowy figure as they knelt down besides me before my eyes crashed shut and I sunk into unconsciousness.

When I woke up, I was still incredibly weak. Everything hurt and I couldn't open my eyes properly, it hurt to try. From what I could gather, I was tied up by my hands in a dark, dank room. The ropes seemed to be soaked in vervain as my wrists were particularly painful and there were angry, red welts where the vervain-soaked ropes had rubbed against my skin.

With a painful groan, I forced open my eyes. I seemed to be in someone's basement. I waited until my eyes had adjusted to the darkness to take in my surroundings. I was bound by vervain soaked ropes and my necklace was hanging up by the window. I cursed under my breath, not only was I weakened by the vervain, it the sunlight reached me I'd burn.

I tried feebly to manoeuvre myself out of the ropes but failed. I wasn't strong enough.

"Good morning, honey."

A dark-haired man stood in the corner of the basement, watching my every move. I was assuming that this was the person who had injected me with vervain and brought me here.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice was hoarse from lack of use.

"Never you mind." He replied with a casual smile.

"Who are you?" I asked him, giving the ropes another pathetic tug. "What do you want with me?"

The man smiled, but didn't answer. He pushed himself off the wall and came forwards. He knelt in front of me, looking straight into my eyes.

"Revenge." He said simply. I could do nothing but stare at him in utter confusion before he took a stake and plunged it into my stomach. It would have hurt with a normal wooden stake, but this one had been dipped in vervain. The pain was unimaginable. I didn't have enough energy to scream, but the sound the broke through my lips was like the cry of a wounded animal. The man chuckled, he seemed to find pleasure in my pain.

My list of victims was a long one, there was no telling who this man was getting revenge for.


	36. Torture

**Ava's POV:**

I was kept in the dark for days, isolated, starving and weak. The man, whose identity I still didn't know, left me alone to starve in the basement. It was easy to torture a vampire without having to physically doing anything given the fact that leaving them to stave was an extremely painful process in itself. I lost track of time, I could have been there a week or just 2 days, I seemed to have lost the ability to keep track of time given the fact I spent a lot of the time reduced to unconsciousness. I wondered if Klaus and Stefan even knew I'd been kidnapped, they'd spend days away from the house, chances were they hadn't even returned, yet. No one knew where I was or that I was in trouble, I was utterly on my own.

I awoke from one of my uncomfortable bouts of unconsciousness one day to find my captor stood against the opposite wall, watching me closely.

"Who are you?" I asked him again, my voice was barely audible, it was barely more than a hoarse whisper.

"My girlfriend was coerced by a man named Elijah into visiting a town called Mystic Falls with him. Now, I had no problem with this, until she stopped returning my calls one day. The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, so I decided to go looking for her. Only, when I get there, I come across a vampire, Damien something-"

"Damon." I corrected him automatically, wincing as the vibrations of my voice rubbed against my throat like sandpaper.

"That's it, Damon. So Damon tells me that my girlfriend is dead and that a girl named Ava had killed her. Now, you're Ava, are you not? You killed Adeline."

I groaned, I couldn't believe this was happening. Even after I'd killed her, she was still finding ways to hurt me.

"How did you even find me?" I asked him, since I hadn't told Damon where we were, and I was assuming Stefan hadn't either, it was an almost impossible trail.

The man shrugged. "I pretended you were a friend of mine, their witchy friend did a locator spell. It was too easy, if I'm honest."

"So, what, now you're gonna kill me for revenge?"

"I figured I'd draw it out a bit first. It's what Adeline would want."

I couldn't help but laugh, despite the fact that laughing felt like someone was rubbing sandpaper against the inside of my windpipe.

"Adeline deserved to die. She ruined my life." I wasn't sure why I was still laughing, the situation wasn't particularly humorous.

The man took a vial from his pocket, unscrewed the stopper and poured the liquid over my savaged hands. When the liquid made contact with my skin, it started to burn painfully as the vervain soaked into my skin. I cried out, trying with as much strength as I could muster to pull my hands from the ropes.

"That may be so, but you took Adeline away from me and now you are going to pay."

"You have no idea how much of a mistake this is."

The man chuckled. "A mistake? I think not. You killed Adeline, I kill you. An eye for an eye, yes?"

"No, you don't understand." A small smirk twisted my lips upwards. "If you kill me, he'll come for you and he will kill you. No, he won't just kill you, he'll torture you for centuries until he has you literally begging for death."

The man frowned. "Who will?"

"Klaus. You probably shouldn't have chosen to kill the girlfriend of an Original."

"An Original? What is this rubbish?"

"Don't tell me you've never heard of the Originals?"

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"The Originals are the oldest vampires in the history of time. The first family of vampires. They're not like normal vampires, they're stronger, faster, they can compel other vampires." I paused, letting this information sink it. "Don't think he won't come for you if you kill me. He'll tear you to pieces."

"You're lying!" He snapped, hitting me across the face. Had not been tied up and under the influence of vervain, it wouldn't have hurt. In fact, I'd have hit him right back, but given the circumstances, the blow was enough to knock me into unconsciousness.

I awoke again some time later. I was so weak I could barely open my eyes. I was aware of another presence in the room, but that was about as much as I could manage.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" The voice broke through the dark haze that was all I could recognise. I struggled the raise my head and force my mouth open to answer.

"Not at all." I insisted, though it was entirely obvious that the state I was in was far from painless.

"You're strong, I'll give you that. I expected you to have stopped coming around by now."

"Thanks," I muttered. "I appreciate the compliment." I said sarcastically.

"So you should, after your lies about the 'Originals'," he sketched air quotes in the air with his fingers, "you're lucky I didn't kill you then for trying to worm your way out of this."

"They weren't lies." I forced my eyes open, shying away from the light that was flooding into part of the room. "The Originals are real. Elijah, he's one. He's Klaus's brother."

"You're a terrible liar." He said with a chuckle.

"I'm not lying!" I said with as much force as I could muster.

Without a word, he left the room, returning a few seconds later with a glass full of a crimson liquid. I couldn't smell it yet, but I knew that when I did, my insides would burn with insatiable hunger. He knelt down in front of me, purposely putting the blood within a distance of which I would be able to smell it.

"You…" I began, attempting to muster the energy to form a full sentence. "You're cruel."

"Wha-" He looked down at his glass as though he was realising his mistake. "Oh, I do apologise." He downed the blood in one and set down the empty glass in front of me. "It's just so easy to forget I've got a starving vampire tied up in the basement!"

He started to say something else, but I didn't hear what, I didn't have the energy to stay away. My eyes crashed shut painfully as the darkness engulfed me.

The next time I woke up, everything was eerily silent. I couldn't hear anything. I assumed it was just my senses beginning to shut down given my incredibly weakened state. That was, until, I heard a familiar voice.

"Where is she?" Why was that voice so familiar? I was too weak to put my finger on it.

"Where's who?"

"I swear to God, you tell me where she is or I will tear your heart from your chest and make you eat it."

Silence.

"Where is she?"

"In the basement." Came my captors monotonous voice.

I heaved my eyes open as light footfalls sounded a few feet away from me. It was Klaus, how had he found me?

"Klaus…" I muttered, attempting a smile. I think it came out as a grimace.

"Yes, sweetheart?" He gave me a light-hearted smile - though I could see the anger in his eyes - as he pulled the ropes from around my wrists and my ankles. Though he tried to hide it, I heard the angry exclamation he made when he saw the ugly gashes in my skin that the vervain left.

"How did you find me?" I struggled up into a sitting position, thankful to have the use of my arms and legs back.

"Anonymous tip off." He muttered, taking something out of his pocket. "Here," He said, reaching behind my neck. I glanced down to see that the something was actually my necklace and he was clasping the ends together for me.

"Thanks." I attempted to stand up but found that I couldn't put any weight on my legs. I would have fallen back down to the vervain soaked floor had Klaus not caught me. He looked up and, as if he had been called, Stefan appeared, clutching a blood bag. He handed it to me without a word and disappeared back through the basement door. I ripped the top off, unable to contain myself, and downed the blood greedily. It took all I had not to moan in pleasure as the blood spread throughout my body, dehydrating me with power. When I was finished, I dropped the empty blood bag to the ground and stood on my own two feet without Klaus's support.

We left the basement and proceeded into the kitchen where Stefan was standing over my captor who he'd forced down into a chair and plunged a stake into his leg to stop him from moving. He, whose name I still didn't know, turned to face me with a terrified expression.

"I did warn you." I said with a smug smile.

Klaus, who seemed to be exuding a cold, steely anger, stepped out from behind me and knelt down in front of the man.

"This is what happens when you upset me." He said in a pleasant voice. The man's confused expression turned to one of horror as Klaus plunged his hand into his chest and, presumably, wrapped his hand around his heart.

The man let out a strangled cry as he struggled to draw breath. "You don't upset me and survive." Klaus whispered before pulling the heart straight from the man's chest.


	37. A False Sense of Security

**Sorry that this chapter is short and uneventful, it's really just a filler chapter. The next chapter will be longer and more interesting. Thanks for reading. :)**

**Ava's POV:**

Klaus kept on asking me if I was ok. Did I feel ok? Did anything hurt? Did I need blood? Did I want him to take me out so we could find someone I could feed on? I answered all these questions as patiently as I could. I was fine, I wasn't human so my wounds had healed relatively quickly. He knew that as well as I did. I wished he would stop with the persistent, worried questions."I'm fine, Klaus. Really!" I cried in exasperation when he opened his mouth again, no doubt to ask another question. He shut his mouth and gave me an embarrassed sort of smile. "Sorry. I just thought we'd lost you for a while there." Stefan, on the other hand, said nothing at all the whole way home. That didn't strike me as anything odd, though; Stefan had barely said 2 words to me in months. He spoke only to Klaus when they would engage in their in depth plan developing of which I was allowed no part in, unless they needed me as a distraction or something of that sort. I did, however, have a general idea of what they were up to. They frequently forgot that my hearing was just as good as theirs.

In the days following my rescue from Adeline's crazed ex, Klaus started to pay more attention to me. It was just little things like if we were sat down together, he would run his fingers through my hair or brush his fingers against my skin. Like I said, it was little things, but it made a difference. Before, he'd barely look at me, except for when he wanted sex. Initially, my sole purpose for accompanying Klaus and Stefan on their travels was purely because I hadn't wanted Stefan to be alone with Klaus. I wanted Elena and Damon to know that Stefan would be safe with someone that he knew, but in all honesty, I hadn't done anything that might have helped Stefan cope with the emotional stress of complying to Klaus's wishes. In addition to this, I'd done something that was worse than not helping Stefan. I'd never had feelings for anyone but Elijah before. Not strong feelings, yet the more time I spent with Klaus, the deeper I felt myself falling. That wasn't to say, though, that my feelings for Elijah had dispersed. I hadn't seen him for months, he was dead. Deep down I knew that I would always have some sort of feelings for Elijah. Had I not still had feelings for him, I wouldn't have hated him for involving himself with Adeline 500 years after it had happened. I suppose, the best way to put it was that I had feelings for both of them, torn between the two of them, a rose between two thorns, though I hated to admit it.

It wasn't until 2 weeks after the incident with Adeline's ex that me and Stefan had our first proper conversation in months. Klaus had gone out for some reason unknown to the pair of us; there were still some things he kept close to his chest because he didn't fully trust me or Stefan, and the two of us had been left alone in the house. We were both sat in the kitchen, watching the news and drinking blood, though neither of us were particularly interested in the news. An awkward silence fell between us whenever the newsreaders paused, a silence which I usually tried to fill by downing some of the liquid in my glass and tapping my fingers against the kitchen surface. After around half an hour of awkward news watching and finger tapping, Stefan spoke.

"Do you miss him?" He burst out, not taking his eyes off the tv.

I turned to face him, confused etched upon my expression. "Who, Klaus?"

"No. Elijah."

I stared at him for a few moments, trying to fabricate an answer.

"Why would I miss Elijah?" I asked finally, frowning.

"Well, you were engaged to him once. You loved him, I assume. Do you not ever miss him? Or does his brother fill his shoes?"

It wasn't hard for me to guess, from the bitter tone in his voice, what the real meaning behind his questions were. He was worried that, in his absence, Elena would forget about him and become closer to Damon.

"Me and Elijah were together a long time ago. That would be like me asking you if you miss Katherine." I said, trying to avoid the question.

Stefan didn't seem satisfied by my answer, but he didn't question it.

"Do you love Klaus?"

I considered his question for a few moments before answering. I hadn't thought about it much before, I hadn't ever asked myself whether or not I loved him. "Yeah, I do." I replied quietly, tearing my gaze away from Stefan's and fixing them unseeingly on the TV. It wasn't a lie, but I'd never even admitted it to myself before, never mind said it out loud.

The front door banging shut told us that Klaus had returned and the two of us fell silent, averting our gazes from the others, Stefan returning to his sullen silence and me, a nervous silence. I was hoping Klaus hadn't heard me and Stefan talking. If he'd been outside the house whilst we were talking, there was a good chance he'd heard since his hearing was 100 times stronger than the majority of vampires given the fact he was an Original. If he had heard us, he didn't give anything away. He sauntered into the kitchen with his usual smirk, seemingly careless. He didn't say anything as he walked around the room, getting himself a glass and pouring blood into the glass.

"Anything interesting?" He asked as he sat down next to me, gesturing towards the television.

"Not at all."

"I wouldn't expect anything else." He said, draining his glass and setting it down on the counter.

"Did you find anything?" Stefan asked him, not bothering to take his gaze of the television.

"Nothing," Klaus said bitterly. "But, I did manage to get a lead on Katerina." He didn't seem too bothered by this. Neither did Stefan. I supposed that now Klaus had broken the curse, the obsession to kill Katherine had subsided some.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"New York, apparently."

"Are you going to go after her?"

"Not yet. I thought it'd be nice to lure her into a false sense of security before hunting her down."

I counted myself lucky that I was part of Klaus' inner circle and not someone he wanted dead. I'd seen how seriously he took revenge and how seriously he took the infliction of pain on another being. It wasn't a desirable situation.


	38. Nighttime Visitors

**Ava's POV:**

I awoke that night with a start. I sat upright in bed, unsure as to what had woken me. I pushed a hand through my hair sleepily and glanced down at Klaus who was still fast asleep. I was about to lie back down when I heard undistinguishable noises coming from downstairs. Frowning, I eased myself off the bed as quietly as possible - Klaus wouldn't be happy if I woke him - and pulled on a vest top and grey joggers and tiptoed out of the room and into the hallway. I stopped and listened again, there were hushed voices coming from the kitchen. More than one. I wondered if Stefan had perhaps returned home - Klaus had sent him out on some sort of job - and perhaps brought back a snack, but I couldn't hear Stefan's voice amongst those who were talking. I sped down the stairs and into the corridor leading up to the kitchen. I could see dark figures silhouetted against the windows. I wondered if they were burglars. I so hoped that they were. There was nothing more entertaining than seeing the look of shock upon burglars faces when they came across a young girl who was stronger than them. I took a few slow steps towards the kitchen when the figures in there turned. Before I could react, I was being pinned against the wall by an unfamiliar man who was poising a stake above my heart. Before I could attempt to push him off of me, one of the other men had pulled him off me and thrown him against the opposite wall."I told you to leave the girl!" Hissed a familiar voice.

I stood flat against the wall in shock, staring at the man who had tried to stake me, who was now getting up and brushing himself down with a glare in my direction.I, however, was staring at the man who had pulled the other man off me, He slowly turned around to face me and my mouth fell open.

"Elijah!"

"Hello, Ava."

I took a few steps back, looking between him and the two men he had with him. There could be no good reason as to why he was here, in the middle of the night, accompanied by two other vampires.

"Where is Klaus?" Elijah asked me, stepping forwards for every step I took back.

"I don't know." I lied. I wondered if I was fast enough to get up the stairs and wake Klaus up before Elijah caught up with me.

"You're lying." Said one of the other men.

I didn't answer, I took another step before turning and attempting to speed up the stairs in order to get to Klaus before they did. Elijah, of course, was too fast though. He caught me from behind before I'd managed to even get to the stairs. His arms went around my middle, clamping my arms down by my sides. The other two took my attempt to get away as an opportunity to slip past me and make their way upstairs.I struggled against Elijah's hold, trying to free my arms at least. I managed to turn around so I was facing him and free my left arm.

"Let go of me!" I exclaimed furiously, pushing my hand against his chest in an attempt to push him away from me.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." He said simply, bringing his hands around to grasp both of my arms.

"Why not!" I demanded, infuriated by his calm attitude.

"Because if I let you go, you'll go running off and I can't have that."

I stopped struggling and relaxed, my expression a stone cold mask.

"Ok, fine. I've stopped trying to get away, will you let go of me now?"

Elijah chuckled but didn't respond, instead he let go of my right arm but tightened the grip on my left one and began to make his way up the stairs, dragging me with him.

"What do you want with Klaus?" I asked him.

"What do you think? He killed me and my family, what else would we be here for?"

I was about to retort angrily when I heard a crash come from my room. We both looked up in alarm and Elijah dragged us both up the remainder of the stairs and into my room.

Klaus was stood over both of the two men that had Elijah had brought with him, breathing heavily. He turned to face me and Elijah as we entered the room. His eyes went straight to the hand that Elijah had wrapped around my upper arm.

"Let her go," he hissed, taking a step towards us. "This has nothing to do with her."

"I'd prefer it if this didn't turn into a fight over the girl." Said one of the men angrily, getting up. There was a gash on the side of his head that was healing rapidly.

"Do you really intend to kill me, brothers?" Klaus asked, folding his arms.

"They're your brothers?" I asked, unable to stop myself, though this was hardly the moment for me to get involved.

"We are indeed." Said the other man, getting up and joining his brother in glaring at Klaus. "But that didn't stop him from driving daggers through our hearts and shoving our bodies unceremoniously into coffins."

"Well, if you're hoping to return the favour, I regret to inform you that…" without finishing his sentence, Klaus turned and exited the room through the window without a second glance. I stared after him open mouthed, how could he just leave me! I made to follow him out of the window but Elijah's grip, which had slackened during the brief conversation, tightened again, preventing me from moving so much as a step away from him.

"Are you planning on giving me my arm back any time soon!" I asked furiously, tugging at my arm again.

"Where's Stefan?" He asked suddenly, letting go of my arm.

"Out. I don't know where, he should be back soon." I muttered, rubbing my arm where he'd had hold of it.

"Should we go after him?" Came the voice of one of the brothers who had been staring out of the window, obviously trying to see if he could track Klaus.

"No. He'll be back." said Elijah.

"What makes you so sure?" The brother asked.

Elijah said nothing, but he glanced at me and the brothers both seemed to understand.

"How did you find us?" I asked them, taking a step away from him and sitting down on the end of the bed.

"Bonnie did a locator spell."

That made sense, my old apartment was full of my things and the boarding house was full of Stefan's possessions. It would have been only too easy for them to perform a locator spell on one of us that would have led them straight here.

"What now?" Asked one of the brothers, looking at me and then at Elijah.

"We'll take Ava back to the house with us, he'll come for her."

"Wha-no! I'm not going anywhere with you!" I protested furiously. I wasn't exactly sure why I felt so strongly about it, I knew that Elijah wasn't going to hurt me and he wouldn't let the others. I would have been concerned about their plans for Klaus only Klaus had left me with them, obviously he was only concerned about his own safety. The fact that he'd bolted and left me with people who could have very easily killed me made me sick to my stomach. I'd honestly thought that maybe he felt something for me, even if it was only mere attraction. He'd saved me from Adeline's ex-boyfriend, what was so different about the situation now? It's not like they could easily kill him, it took more than a stake to the heart to do that.

"You can come, or I can force you to come." Elijah replied calmly, holding out his hand.

"What about all my stuff?"

"Bryden and Evander will see to that." I assumed that Bryden and Evander were the brothers.

Knowing that I had been defeated, I stood up, ignoring the hand that Elijah was offering and walked past him. "Where are we going then?" I asked , sulkily.

"A house a little outside of Mystic Falls. The rest of my family are there."

I felt a spasm of nerves. I wasn't exactly thrilled about being taken to a house full of Original vampires, all of whom were a hell of a lot stronger than me. It was a little intimidating, not to mention humiliating being the youngest and weakest vampire in the house.


	39. A Captive, Again

**Ava's POV:**

Elijah escorted me out of the room and down the stairs, making sure to keep a close eye on me in case I decided to bolt. The brothers, Bryden and Evander, stayed behind to gather my stuff. I wasn't sure why Elijah wouldn't let me do it myself, it wasn't as if there was anything I could do to get away whilst packing my things, especially under his watchful eye.

"Why didn't you wait for Stefan?" I asked him when I realised that Stefan would either be coming home to an empty house, or to a house with two vampires he didn't know.

"Klaus will have found Stefan before he returned." Elijah answered simply, opening the door of an expensive looking car for me.

"You don't know that for certain." I replied with a frown. I refused the accept the fact that Klaus would leave me but go looking for Stefan.

"Yes, I do. Klaus is my brother. I know how his mind works."

Throwing Elijah a glare, I flung myself down into the passenger seat of the car and shut the door behind me. I folded my arms and glared out of the window, unwilling to have any interaction with Elijah whatsoever. I was acting like a child, I knew that. My months travelling with Klaus had somewhat turned me against Elijah, even though I had no reason aside from the fact that he had cheated on me some 500 years ago, to hate him.

He took me to a house, it was larger than the one that Klaus had picked out for us to live in, but it was less conspicuous since it was quite a while away from any civilisation. Brilliant, I thought to myself bitterly. I had no chance of getting away. If I tried to make my escape, there were 8 Original vampires who were more than capable of stopping me and no buildings or any form of transport around for miles.

So, what, are you keeping me captive?"

"I suppose that's one way of putting it."

"Why though! What have I done?"

Elijah gestured for me to follow him, surveying me thoughtfully. "All will be revealed in time."

Reluctantly, I followed him up the driveway that led to the front door of the house. I could hear movement and muttered conversations coming from inside. I eyed the house nervously; as a vampire that was over 500 years old, I didn't often get scared or nervous. I was wary around both Klaus and Elijah for obvious reasons, but here I was downright scared. What if they decided to punish me for associating myself with Klaus? If they decided to attack me there would be nothing that I could do.

Elijah ushered me inside the house. It was big, but it was also very plain. I supposed they didn't really need luxuries.

"I thought the plan was to bring back our estranged brother," came a harsh, female voice. "Not to buy yourself some eye candy."

I looked up to find a girl who looked around my age descending the stairs. She had long, light brown hair and was surveying me with a cold expression.

"This is Ava." Elijah said simply, shutting the front door.

Realization snapped in her eyes and her cold expression changed to one of curiosity.

"So you're the girl my brothers seem to enjoy fighting over." She drawled, raising an eyebrow.

I stared at her, what was she talking about? When had Klaus and Elijah ever fought over me?

"What are you talking about?" I asked her, frowning in confusion.

After being shot a hard glare from Elijah, she plastered a smile on her face. "Never mind. My name's Aurelia. It's nice to finally meet you." She held out her hand.

Hesitantly, I took it. She shook it briefly before turning to Elijah.

"I'm assuming Klaus outsmarted you, as usual?"

"Not so much outsmarted as he made a rapid escape leaving this one," he gestured towards me, "behind."

"I see he hasn't lost any of his charm, then?" She said sarcastically.

Elijah ignored this comment and instead fiddled with his cufflinks for a moment.

"Find Ava a room, Bryden and Evander will be back soon with her stuff. Keep an eye on her." He gave his sister, Aurelia, a significant look before setting off down the hallway.

"Hey, wait!" I called after him, less than comfortable being left with his sister whom I barely knew. "Where are you going?"

He ignored me and Aurelia, who had been watching me in amusement, took my arm and pulled me up the stairs. I repressed the urge to attempt to shake her hand off, I was tired of being led around like a was a dog but I knew that she was too strong for me to succeed. She led me up a few floors and down a couple of corridors before we reached a room at the back of the house.

"You can stay in here." She said unnecessarily, opening the door for me.

I walked inside, it was nice, I suppose. Cream walls, large bed, simple furniture. Aurelia followed me inside and sat down in a chair whilst I sat down self-consciously on the end of the bed. I could feel her watching me.

"So," she said, finally, a small smile playing on her lips. "Elijah _and _Klaus? Working your way through the family?"

"It's not like that." I said tightly, not looking at her.

"So what is it like?"

"Has Elijah told you how we met? What happened between us? How I was turned?"

She shrugged. "He told us the basics; he was in France looking for the doppelganger, he met you, fell in love, the two of you were engaged, due to an unfortunate sequence of events of which he has not yet divulged you were turned and then due to irreconcilable differences of opinion of which he has also not disclosed - though he did say it was something to do with our darling brother, Nicklaus - the two of you broke off the engagement and you fled town."

"An unfortunate sequence of events? Irreconcilable differences of opinion? Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed furiously. My being killed by Klaus and turned into a vampire was a little more than what could be categorised as an 'unfortunate sequence of events'. The fact that he cheated on me with my sister in law was a hell of a lot bigger than 'irreconcilable differences of opinion' and as for it being something to do with Klaus; that was a downright lie. Yes, Klaus led me to finding out, it had nothing else to do with him. I was irrationally angry, why should it bother me so much that he hadn't disclosed all the information?

Aurelia crossed one leg over the other and was watching me curiously. "Does that bother you?"

I stared at her for a moment. "No. Of course not. Did he tell you anything else?" I asked, steering the subject away from my irrational anger at the fact that Elijah had treated our past as though it was nothing of importance.

"Just that Klaus had found the second doppelganger, broken the curse, killed Elijah and then ran away with you and a vampire named Stefan Salvatore."

I didn't reply. I got up from the bed silently and walked over to the window, staring out of it. I could have forced it open and been out of it in a second, I was fast enough, but I knew that she would be faster, as would everyone else in the house.

"He was worried about you, you know?" She said quietly, getting up from the chair.

I shrugged, I didn't really know how to respond to that.

"He loves you."

A burst of disbelieving laughter broke free of my lips. "No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does!" She exclaimed, coming over to where I was stood. "He was beside himself when he found out you were kidnapped."

"He knew about that?" I turned to face her, a furrow appearing in my brow. How on earth had Elijah known about that? I had been under the impression that the only people who knew about that were Klaus, Stefan and I. Oh, and the guy who had kidnapped me, but he was dead so he no longer counted.

"Who do you think gave Klaus the anonymous tip off?"

"Ok, hold up a moment." I said, holding up my hand. "Lets start at the beginning, how did Elijah even know I'd been kidnapped?"

Aurelia leaned against the window and folded her arms. "A vampire went to Mystic Falls looking for his girlfriend, I forget her name-"

"-Adeline." I growled, grinding my teeth. Even the mere memory of her made me angry.

"Adeline, yes, that was it. Elijah had been using her to try and find you, is that right?"

I nodded.

"So, her boyfriend came looking for her and Elijah told him that you had killed her so he left. A few months later, Stefan Salvatore got in touch with his brother and asked him if you were with him. When his brother said no, Stefan told him that you were missing. They told Elijah and he knew straight away what had happened. He had the witch, Bonnie, is it? Well he had her perform a locator spell and sent Klaus the address anonymously."

"Why did he do it anonymously?"

"Because if Klaus knew it was from Elijah he'd know that someone had brought him back to life and would think that Elijah was trying to lure him into a trap." She said simply as though it was obvious.

A wave of emotion overwhelmed me. Klaus had saved my life physically, but Elijah had been the one to lead him there. I was surprised he'd even bothered after I'd gone off with Klaus. I felt guilty, not just because I'd gone off with Klaus, but because I'd fallen for Klaus as well as having feelings for Elijah. Did that make me just as bad as Katherine?


	40. Brief Interrogation

**Ava's POV:**

After staring out of the window for a full five minutes, having a debate with myself over whether or not I was a bad person by falling for both brothers, I moved across the room. I'd used my supernatural speed without thinking and Aurelia, obviously thinking I was trying to make my escape, used hers and appeared in front of me before I could reach the door.

"Where are you going?" She demanded, blocking my exit.

"I need to talk to Elijah."

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"Why not!"

"Elijah is currently taking part in a very important conversation with our father. Unless you want to have your head ripped off, I'd advise you to stay away."

Though I wanted to protest, I knew better. I didn't, under any circumstances, want to get on the bad side of an Original, especially not the father.

I could hear Elijah's voice coming from somewhere downstairs, accompanied by another one. The other voice was deep and sounded impatient. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying since they seemed to be taking care to keep their voices down. I was about to ask Aurelia how long I was going to have to stay with them when an angry voice ripped through the house. It was so loud I had no problem hearing what it was saying.

"I ASKED YOU TO FIND OUT _EXACTLY _WHAT KLAUS WAS DOING!"

Aurelia sighed. "My father has a short temper, in case you haven't noticed."

Elijah muttered something angrily in response, I couldn't hear exactly what he said but I caught the mention of my name.

"Then bring her to me!" Said the angry voice.

Aurelia grabbed my arm and pulled me from the room. I didn't need to ask where she was taking me, I knew that the 'her' that their father had referred to was me.

Aurelie took me to a room in the basement of the house where it looked like the whole family was assembled. Elijah was there, as were Bryden and Evander and 3 women that I didn't recognise and a very powerful looking man who I took to be the angry father. Fear rose up inside me, filling me with a cold dread. I got nervous being in the same room as one Original, never mind 8.

"Thank you, Aurelia." The man said. She nodded at him and took a seat next to the two women I assumed were her sisters. He turned to me with an expression of intense dislike. I supposed he thought I'd been assisting Klaus with his plans.

"For what reason did you think it was acceptable for you to help my deranged son with whatever he his attempting now that he has broken that goddamn curse?" He asked me. Anger seemed to radiate from his very pores and he seemed to exude pure power, a little like Klaus.

"I wasn't helping him. He didn't involve me with his plans." I replied humbly, looking down at the floor.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you." He snapped, taking a few steps forward. I wanted to take a step backwards but I seemed to be rooted to the spot.

"There's no doubt in my mind that, after we've extracted every ounce of information from you, I'll drive a stake through your heart so you have nothing to lose by telling us everything you know."

"Please don't kill me!" I burst out in panic. "I wasn't helping Klaus, I was trying to help Stefan, I didn't want him to be alone."

My pleas went unnoticed. Elijah wasn't even looking at me. He was facing the other way, staring down at his hands. The father moved so fast across the room that even I didn't see it, until he was stood right in front of me. He grabbed hold of me by the jaw, forcing me to look him straight in the eye.

"Tell me everything you know." He said. He was compelling me, I could feel the force running through my body, forcing me to answer. I cursed myself internally for not keeping up regular consumptions of vervain.

"Klaus wanted to start his own race of hybrids." I answered in a monotonous voice. "He was tracking down families with the werewolf gene so he could turn them."

"Interesting, did he find any?"

"Yes."

"What did he do?"

"I don't know."

He surveyed coldly for a few moments before releasing me from his gaze and pushing me away from him. The force of his push was so powerful that I crashed into the wall behind me.

"Nicholas." One of the women said reprovingly. He ignored her.

Rubbing the back of my head I got up, cursing internally.

"Elijah, take Ava back to her room." Said the woman, giving him a soft smile. I assumed that this one was the mother, she seemed to have a softer side like a maternal instinct.

Elijah waited until we'd got back to my allocated room to speak.

"Are you ok?" He asked me, shutting the door behind us. "My father he can be a little…aggressive."

"Really? I didn't notice!" I replied scathingly.

Elijah suppressed a smile which only angered me further, I hadn't intended it to be funny.

"I've told you all I know. Like I said, Klaus never involved me in his plans, that was between him and Stefan so you may as well just kill me now. Rip my head off, rip my heart out, whatever, just do it because I'd rather you do it than your father."

Elijah shook his head and sat down in the chair that Aurelia had occupied earlier. "I'm not going to kill you and neither will my father. He was angry at me for failing to retrieve Klaus."

I pushed my hand through my hair, becoming increasingly panicked. I'd managed to get myself into a sticky situation. "Well then Klaus is going to kill me for telling you what he's up to. I never wanted any of this, I never wanted to get in the middle of this whole war between Klaus and your family. I just…I don't know, I just wanted-"

"What did you want?"

"Not this!"

"I don't think this is what any of us wanted." Elijah said with a sympathetic smile.

I was silent for a few moments as we looked at each other. _He's so beautiful_, I thought to myself, blushing when I realised the words that had just gone through my head. I cleared my throat awkwardly and tore my gaze away from his.

"Your sister told me that it was you who told Klaus where I was."

"Mhmm. I gather he got there in time?"

"Yeah, he did." I paused. "Thank you, Elijah."

He inclined his head. "My pleasure."

We both lapsed into silence for a few minutes, staring in opposite directions.

"Did he hurt you?" Elijah asked abruptly. I turned to face him slowly, frowning.

"Who?"

"David."

Who was David? "David?"

"Adeline's boyfriend."

"Oh. He never told me his name. Yes, he hurt me. That was the whole point."

Elijah's expression was devoid of any emotion, apart from his eyes.

"I would have come for you myself but I thought you'd prefer Klaus coming to the rescue."

I was still stood in the middle of the room, watching Elijah closely.

"Elijah, I…" I trailed off into silence, unsure how to put how to put what I was feeling into words. He stood up and slowly walked over to where I was stood. He stopped when he was in front of me.

"Yes?" He prompted me in a quiet voice, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

I opened my mouth to speak when the door of my room flew open to reveal one of the girls I had seen down in the basement. We'd both moved away from each other as the door had opened, putting a reasonable amount of distance between us as the girl took a few steps into the room. This one had darker hair the Aurelia and I got a meaner vibe from this one. I got the impression she was more like Klaus than like Elijah and Aurelia.

"Daddy wants you, Elijah." She said in a high, girlish voice which surprised me. I'd been expecting a much lower voice, she didn't strike me as a 'daddy's girl'.

"Now, Alistina?" Elijah said in an exasperated voice turning away from me to face her.

"Now." She said, letting her gaze drift over me with the faintest of smirks playing on her lips. I bristled in annoyance though I knew better than to say anything.

"Don't keep him waiting." She trilled, turning and walking away, leaving the door wide open.

Evidently irritated, Elijah looked back at me and then at his sister's retreating figure. I could see he was conflicted, but the mood was broken. I had moved further away from him, I wasn't even looking at him but I could see his reflection in the window. Without another word, he left the room in a flash, slamming the door shut behind him. With a sigh, I retreated over to the window where I sat on the window bay, staring moodily out of the window like an emotional teenager.

I wondered if Klaus would come for me. Probably not. He'd want to steer clear of his family, all of which had sworn revenge on him since he'd killed every last one of them. I put my hands over my face, breathing heavily. I needed to get away from here, though if I got caught, they'd kill me, but if I stayed, they'd kill me anyway. It was worth a shot.


	41. Memory Lane

**Ava's POV:**

I woke up the next morning in a foul mood. I was angry at everyone and everything. I was angry at Klaus for leaving me, angry at Elijah for bringing me here, angry at myself for allowing myself to end up in such a difficult situation. Everything was a mess.

I stayed in my room for the most part of the day, sulking. The weather seemed to be mirroring my mood; the sky was grey and torrential rain was pelting down from the clouds. Every now and then, a thunder clap would roll across the skies, followed by a strike of lightning.

Aurelia stopped by mid-morning, probably to keep an eye on me. It wasn't exactly a secret that I was less than enthused at the prospect of spending an extended amount of time in this house.

"I'm sorry my father was so aggressive yesterday." She said, sitting down on my bed. I was sat on the window bay, staring miserably out of the window. Being in this house with these people made me feel downright miserable. When I didn't answer, she continued.

"It's just…Klaus killed us all. He hunted every one of us down and killed us, his own family, and now that he's broken the curse, he needs to be stopped."

"I understand that," I answered without looking at her. "But why do you need to keep me locked up here?"

"Because he'll come for you." She said simply.

"No, he won't. Klaus doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"I know my brother. He's very territorial. Whether he cares about you or not, he'll consider you his property. He'll come to claim what is rightfully his, you mark my words."

I frowned, I didn't like being referred to as his property, like I was an object. I ignored her, hoping that she would leave me alone, but apparently she had other ideas.

"So, tell me, what did happen between you and Elijah? He won't tell me anything."

"He won't?"

"No, he says it's private."

I smirked, it wasn't private, he just didn't want his family to know what an utter bastard he'd been.

"Fine." I stayed staring out of the window, not wanting to face her whilst telling the story of how I became a monster. I didn't particularly like talking about it. "It started around 1502. Elijah came to my hometown looking for Katherine-"

"-Katherine?"

"Katerina, sorry. The Petrova Doppelganger."

"Oh."

"So, he worked his way into my father's inner circle of friends, and my parents were, constantly, trying to hook me up and marry me off to various men. Elijah was invited to one of these attempts and for the first time in my life I found myself attracted to another person. Nothing was set in concrete until he asked me to marry him at my brother's wedding, we kept quiet until afterwards as to not steal anyone's thunder. My parents hosted a big dinner celebration type thing where he proposed to me publicly and I said yes. Enter Klaus. He came along that night, he seemed nice enough but he made me a little nervous." I paused for a moment, pretending to think. I didn't need to need to think about what happened next, I'd been through it so many times in my head it came naturally. I didn't want Aurelia to know this, though. Or, anyone, for that matter. "Nothing particularly interesting happened between then and the day I was turned. Oh, except wedding plans and the fact that I kept turning up covered in blood with no recollection of how it had got there. Anyway, one day Elijah and Klaus were fighting over something, Katerina I think, and I walked in. Elijah told me to go but Klaus grabbed hold of me and pulled me into the room. He said 'You see, brother, I'm beginning to question your dedication to this search, and we both know why that is.' He took hold of my hand and drew me close to him. He surveyed my face for a long moment before turning me to face Elijah…" My voice was bleak, I could see Aurelia's reflection in the window, she was listening closely. "He brushed my hair away from my neck and placed his hand under my chin." I sounded as though I was reading from a piece of paper, my words had no emphasis, no emotion, I was too busy watching it play out in my minds eye. "He said, 'I ordered you to find Katerina and you've let your attention wander'. I was scared, I couldn't get free, of course, he was too strong. Elijah did nothing but stared at us both helplessly, obviously I didn't know, then, that there was nothing he could have done to stop Klaus, he was too strong. Not that he didn't try verbally. He pleaded with Klaus, said that he didn't have to do it, that he would find Katerina but Klaus didn't think this was good enough." I remembered how the cold dread had slowly engulfed me as I listened to their conversation, still struggling to break free of Klaus's hold. I'd known that I wouldn't be walking away untouched.

" 'We do not feel, Elijah' he said, 'I was willing for you to come to terms with that on your own, but that was before you let this one take a hold of your heart. I did warn you that, if you spoke to me like that again, I'd tear out her throat'. And that's what he did, he my head up so that my neck was exposed and tore out my throat. I didn't last long after that, the last thing I remember before I died was Klaus letting go of me as Elijah forced him up against the wall."

I fell silent. From what I could tell from the reflection in the window, Aurelia's expression hadn't changed.

"Klaus killed you." She said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "That doesn't surprise me. Of course he killed you. He was trying to teach Elijah a lesson." She sighed. "So what happened then?"

"I woke up. I was disorientated. My head hurt, my mouth hurt, my throat hurt, everything hurt. The lights were blinding and everything sounded louder than it was. They both started asking each other if they'd given me blood, I shouted at them to be quiet. So, I was in transition. And my memories started to come back, memories of when I'd been compelled as a human. Klaus had been feeding off me, and then compelling me to forget, but he wasn't the only one. Klaus and Elijah weren't the only vampires in town. A vampire called Raoul had also been feeding off me. It had been his blood in my body that had caused me to come back to life." I sighed. "Pity, really. Given everything that's happened since then, I'd have rather have died then." I saw Aurelia open her mouth to say something, so I hurried on, not wanting her to stop my train of thought. "The memory of another vampire I'd also been compelled by came back. A few years earlier, I'd come into contact with Katerina. She'd told me her story, she'd needed to get it out to someone, and then she compelled me to forget. Bit of a coincidence, really ,given who I later became engaged to." I gave a weak smile, noting how worn out I looked in my reflection. "They were both shocked by the revelation that I'd had a conversation with Katerina. I took that opportunity to slip out of the room under the pretence of getting a drink. What I really wanted was to get away from them, after remembering what Katerina had told me, I now knew how powerful and dangerous they both were. As soon as I was out of the room, I slipped out of the front door and made to run. I was still disorientated, though. I couldn't run properly, I could barely see properly, and that combined with the fact I was downright terrified, I was never destined to get far. I ran into Raoul, though. He was feeding and, to cut a long story shot, the blood was tempting and I fed. Elijah found me shortly after that. He took me back to the house and we talked." I was getting bored of the story now. No, that was a lie. I was getting emotional, I missed the person I was back then. The girl who had a family and the prospect of a future with the man she was in love with. It was a simpler time.

"Anyway, basically, after the whole me Klaus-killing-me-and-me-becoming-a-vampire thing came our wedding. Or, what should have been our wedding. In the days before, Klaus was causing trouble, attacking people and compelling them to think it was me, that sort of thing so by the time the night before our wedding came, I was agitated, irritable, emotional due to the heightened senses and all that. Me and Elijah weren't exactly on good terms since I'd suggested that we be nice to Klaus to avoid antagonising him and Elijah though I was doing this because I liked Klaus or something, so there I am, the night before my wedding, looking for my fiancé to make it up with him, and I ask Klaus if he's seen him, Klaus tells me that Elijah is upstairs, so up I go and I find him - this bit is brilliant - I find him in my room, getting it on with my poisonous sister-in-l-"

"-Elijah cheated on you! Elijah! Are you serious? Elijah?"

"I know," I turned around, finally facing her. "Apparently all that man-of-honour-noble-guy stuff doesn't extend that far when Elijah is jealous. So I ran, for over 500 years, I ran."

Aurelia swore under her breath. I understood her shock, Elijah was someone who kept his word, followed through on his promises, the last person you would expect to cheat.

"He regrets it." She said quietly. "Even when I didn't know the details, I could tell that, whatever it was, he regretted his part in it. He loves you, Ava. It may not be my place to say, but he does."

"Well that's too bad. I don't love him anymore," I lied, turning back to the window.

Before she could answer, the door opened and Elijah himself came in. Both of us turned around to face him and, I could tell by the look on his face that he had heard every word.

"Aurelia, could you give us a moment?"

Aurelia looked between the two of us.

"Electra needs your help with something." He said, staring at her, his eyes boring into hers. Aurelia looked like she wanted to protest, but decided against it. Without another word, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

"So," Elijah said, barely containing his anger. "Taking a trip down memory lane, I see?"


	42. Love, Hate, Such a Fine Line

**Sorry for the short chapter, the next one will be sufficiently longer. Thanks for reading. **

**Ava's POV:**

"What's your problem?" I asked him, getting up from the window bay.

"There's a reason I didn't tell them the whole story."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Have I made you look bad in front of your family? I know how that fe-" I stopped mid-sentence as though I'd suddenly remembered something. "Oh, wait, no I don't, because all my family are dead." I snapped.

"You're lying to yourself, you know?" He said a much calmer, lower voice.

"Lying to myself about what?"

"You said that you don't love me…"

"I don't." I said defiantly, folded my arms. "I stopped loving you the moment I saw you and Adeline…" I trailed off into silence, unable to finish my sentence. The thought of that moment still made me sick to my stomach. "I love Klaus now."

"Klaus? The man who left you to fend for yourself against 3 men hundreds of years more powerful than yourself?" Elijah said, watching me with a cold expression.

"Compared to someone who promised to love me forever and then cheated on me with my sister-in-law?"

"It still bothers you, because you still care."

"I really don't." I made to sweep past him but he caught my by the shoulders and forced me backwards into the wall behind me. The wall groaned in protest as we crashed against it. I tried to push him off me but he was too strong, and angry, too. It wasn't often that Elijah lost his temper, he was a patient man, I must have pushed him too far.

"You're lying." He hissed, his right hand closing around my neck.

"No, I'm not." I hissed back, my futile attempts to free myself of his grasp going unnoticed.

"I'm going to put this as simply as possible in an attempt to help you understand." He snarled, looking straight into my eyes. "I love you, Ava. I never stopped loving you and I know that deep down you love me, too."

"Wha-I don't love you! You cheated on me the night before our wedding, in case my 500 year absence was too subtle for you, that was me running away from you because I _hate_ you." I hissed, wrapping my hands around his wrists and pulling at them, trying to break free. He caught hold of my hands and pinned them against the wall.

"No, you were running because you were hurt, and you hate me for it now because you still care." He said, struggling to calm himself. "You're lying to me and you're lying to yourself."

I stopped struggling and stared at him. I'd never seen him lose control like this, he was always so calm and collected. He was staring right back at me, breathing heavily. I supposed his proclamation had taken quite a bit of emotion.

He was right, of course he was. If I'd stopped loving him the moment I saw he and Adeline together, it wouldn't still bother me now, I wouldn't have run away, though I'd never admit this to anyone, especially not Elijah. I was having a hard time admitting it to myself, even. In a move that was quite uncharacteristic, Elijah kissed me. He was slow and hesitant and first and I was very still. I didn't reciprocate, but I didn't push him away either. It wasn't until his hands let go of my wrists and went to my hair that I responded. I grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him closer as our lips moved forcefully against each other.

I awoke in the middle of the night. Elijah had left a couple of hours ago to go on some errand on his fathers orders. After collecting his clothes - some of which were torn beyond repair - from the floor, he'd pressed his lips to my forehead and told me to sleep. Though in that moment I'd been perfectly content, there was a small part of me that felt nothing but guilt. I was turning into the kind of scarlet woman that would take pleasure in becoming romantically involved with two brothers. I was turning into Katherine.

It was still raining outside, the sound was relaxing. Every now and then there was a thunder clap though it wasn't as loud as it had been earlier. Yawning, I got up from the bed. I was hungry, I hadn't fed for a while. I threw on a vest top and some jeans so that I could venture downstairs in search of some blood. Still half-asleep, I stumbled downstairs, not bothering to keep the noise down. Chances were, most of the family were out anyway. I knew that Elijah had gone out with two of his sisters and his father but it was safe to assume that they'd left at least one person, since someone would have to keep an eye on me.

When I reached the kitchen, I switched the light on and shied away from it, had it always been so bright? I went straight to the fridge and pulled it open, happy to find a plentiful supply of blood inside. I grabbed one and turned away from the fridge with the intention of pouring it into a glass, only to get the fright of my life. Someone grabbed me and pressed me forcefully into the fridge, clapping a hand over my mouth.

"Hello, my lovely." He whispered, pressing a finger to his lips as my eyes widened in shock. It was Klaus.


	43. The End

**Ok, so last chapter, guys. Thank you all so much for reading. I will be writing more about Ava in the future, but on a sort of parallel universe type situation like, what would have happened had Elijah not cheated on her or what would have happened if they had met when they were both human. Anyway, here's the last chapter. Thanks again for reading. :)**

**Ava's POV:**

We stared at each other. My gaze was shocked whilst his was careless. An easy smile was playing on his lips as he slowly took his hand away from my mouth.

"What are you doing here!" I demanded in a whisper. They'd been right. He'd played right into their hands. He'd come for me.

"Well, I know how insufferable my family can be. I thought I'd come and rescue you from being dragged into their endless drama." He said, running a finger along my jawbone.

"No, no, oh, God." I muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling it away from where he was trailing a finger down my cheekbone.

"You don't want to be rescued?" He asked, frowning. I could almost feel the anger start to rise inside of him.

"No! No, that's not what I meant. Klaus, this is exactly what they want! They took me because they knew you'd come for me! This is a trap." I said desperately. I wanted him to take it seriously. He was strong, there was no doubting that, but would he be able to overpower the 8 other members of his family? It didn't seem likely.

"A trap?" He repeated, the traces of a smirk coming to his lips. I opened my mouth to answer, but someone else got there before me.

"A trap." Came Elijah's voice. Klaus turned and I leant to the side to see past Klaus. Elijah was stood at the kitchen door. Behind him was Bryden, Aurelia, Evander, Alistina and Electra. All of them were staring at Klaus with anger. I supposed none of them were too happy to see him after he'd killed them all. "And it worked rather well, if I may say so." He continued, taking a step forward. "I'm sorry we had to involve you in this, Ava." He said to me.

"I'm surprised, Klaus." Said Aurelia, stepping past Elijah to get a closer look at Klaus. "I admit, I was sceptical about this plan. I was under the impression that you cared about no one but yourself, brother. After all, you did kill your own flesh and blood, but apparently I was wrong." She smirked.

"What are you implying, sister dearest?" Klaus asked. His tone was as light hearted as ever, but I knew that it was an act. He was like a snake waiting to strike.

"Well, I didn't think _you_ would come to care for someone else."

"I quite agree." Said Elijah. "What was it that you said to me? Oh, yes. 'Love is a vampire's greatest weakness, Elijah, and we are not weak'."

"I'm sorry, you actually think I care for her?" Klaus hissed, keeping his eyes on Elijah and Aurelia, though they frequently darted back to Bryden, Evander, Alistina and Electra who were all guarding the door silently.

"You seem to have got the wrong end of the stick. I watched my brother fall in love with this girl," he gestured towards me, "it distracted him from the task at hand. I attempted to kill her to teach him a lesson, but, as we all know she came back as a vampire. I thought that Elijah would be so consumed with the guilt that they'd never be able to rebuild their relationship. However, they gave it a good try. After he cheated on her and she ran away, leaving him heartbroken, I thought my job was done,"

Everyone was staring at Klaus, including me.

"Alas, he searched for her for 500 years, to no avail. For 500 years, brother, your feelings grew stronger for her, her absence only made you long for her, so I couldn't help but take her from you when you finally found her." He took a few slow, deliberate steps forward until he was stood directly in front of Elijah, who was staring at Klaus, apparently as lost for words as I was.

"There really is nothing quite as satisfying as having the girl that your brother is in love with moan your name in the throws of passion." He turned to glance at me, a malicious smirk now dominating his features. "I mean, you know how she gets whe-" he paused deliberately, looking back at Elijah. "Oh, no you don't know how she gets, because you screwed it up before you could get to that part." He tutted. "Pity."

Tears were running down my face. It had all been an act. Of course it had, he was simply trying to hurt his brother. I should have known.

"I think that this has gone on long enough." Klaus said, advancing upon me now. I didn't like the expression he was wearing. It was a little short of evil. From beneath his jacket, he drew out a stake and raised it above my chest. Before I could react, or before Klaus could stake me, Elijah had thrown him across the room. The others who, up until now, had been mostly silent, had all converged upon Klaus, obscuring him from view. Elijah grabbed me by the arm and pulled me from the kitchen.

"I want you to run." He said, as soon as we got close enough to the front door.

"What!"

"You have to run. Run as fast as you can, don't stop until you get far enough away that he won't catch you today. I know you can do it, you ran from me."

"Bu-why!" I asked, the tears were coming thick and fast now.

"This was his plan all along, to use you to get to me. It's what he does, he spreads unhappiness wherever he goes. He won't give up until you're dead."

I stared at him, unable to believe what I was hearing. Klaus had loved me, hadn't he? I'd been so sure of it. He'd rescued me from Adeline's ex boyfriend, he'd come to rescue me now!

"Go!"

Without another word, a wrenched open the front door and sped out, slamming it behind me. It was pouring it down, the sky was still pitch black and it was cold. It didn't matter though, either I ran or I died. I sped off over the fields and through the trees, leaving the house behind me. Branches hit me in the face, cutting into my skin leaving cuts that lasted only a few seconds. It took only a few seconds for the pouring rain to soak me, but that didn't slow me down any.

There was no way to tell if I was still crying or not, the rain washed any tears that might be leaking from my eyes away, the sound of the rain hitting the ground drowned out any noises that I might have been making. I was devastated, almost as much as I had been when I'd walked in on Elijah and Adeline.

"Ava!"

I screamed and tried to stop as someone appeared directly in front of me. They grabbed me by the shoulders.

"It's Elijah!"

I relaxed a little.

"What are you doing? Where's Klaus?"

Worry flashed across his face. "I don't know. He got away."

"What do you mean he got away! It was 6 against 1!"

"The perks of being a hybrid, I'd expect."

I didn't answer, I didn't know how to reply to that. I looked away from him and then looked back, unable to think of anything constructive to say.

I opened my mouth to ask what we were going to do now when a hand went through my back and wrapped itself around my heart. My words were turned into a cry of pain and anguish as a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Indeed, the perks of being a hybrid are plentiful." Came Klaus's voice as he tightened his hand around my heart. Elijah stood, staring at us. He was shocked but wary, too. He didn't want to provoke Klaus into ripping my heart through my back.

"Klaus, please. This doesn't have to happen, brother. You don't need to kill her."

"I know I don't _need_ to kill her. That doesn't mean I don't want to." He placed his free hand under my chin to pull my head up, just as he had when I was a human, right before he'd killed me.

"Don't worry, sweetheart." He murmured in my ear. "I'll make it quick." He pressed his lips to the skin just beneath my ear. I whimpered pathetically, it hurt, I couldn't breathe and every time I tried to draw breath, his hand would contract, causing me even more pain. I knew for definite that, despite that fact it was still raining and therefore hard to tell, tears were flooding down my face.

"K-Klaus…" I rasped, trying desperately to draw breath.

"It's fitting, really, isn't it? That she should die as a vampire in a similar manner to how she died as a human."

Elijah hadn't taken his eyes off me the whole time, he was staring at me with what looked like fear. Apparently, he had had enough. He used his speed to move forward, obviously hoping that he would be quick enough to get me away from Klaus, but Klaus was quicker. He wrenched his hand, and my heart, through my back. I knew nothing but pain and Elijah's tortured cry before everything went black.


	44. Question

Ok, so I've been thinking and I was wondering, since you all seemed to hate the fact that I killed off Ava, that maybe I should do a sequel? I could do something along the lines of her being a ghost and tie it in with the storyline that Jeremy has got going on, on the show right now. What do you guys think?


	45. Sequel

Ok, so I can't link you to it, but I wrote the first chapter of the sequel, if any of you are interested. You should be able to find it on my profile, it's called A Rose Between Two Thorns II.


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